There are two parts to the Survive and Thrive project – a series of webinars and 1 to 1 business support. This project aims to support businesses in Staffordshire and the surrounding regions.
The webinars are designed to be interactive and resources to download during the webinars will be made available, as well as examples and the opportunity for chat and questions. If you are unable to attend the webinar then you can watch a recording.
Several of the webinars link to each other and we would encourage you to sign up for all of the webinars.
Practical Hints and Tips for Small and Micro-businesses occurred on Staffordshire Day (May 1st) – Recording here
How to critically assess your business operation and ask really good questions in light of Covid 19 – 2pm May 21st Recording here
How to Create Clear Messaging & Develop Customer Relationships Online – 2pm May 28th Recording here
Strengthening your business and its future prospects: adapting your operations and supply chain management 2pm June 4th Recording here
Are you in the right place? How to connect to the right audience & analyse your performance 2pm June 11th Recording here
E-commerce 1: A fun, no techno-babble guide to having a go with electronic commerce! 2pm 18th June Awaiting editing
E-commerce 2: A detailed navigation of the e-commerce strategy template introduced in the E-Commerce 1 webinar 2pm June 25th Recording here
How to manage your staff and their wellbeing out of the lockdown and beyond 2pm July 2nd Recording here
Introduction to advanced operations for key social media platforms 2pm July 7th Recording here
How to develop & integrate email marketing into your business 2pm July 9th Recording here
Managing change, risk and longevity – what does the future hold? 2pm July 16th
Paul Dobson, Senior LEcturer,Staffordshire Business School
It’s been a challenging, confusing and worrying time for
most industries during this current Coronavirus Crisis. But the hospitality
sector in particular stands to be one of the hardest hit as it struggles to
contemplate how it can continue to trade successfully keeping social distancing
in mind, coupled with a rapidly shrinking economy. As part of Staffordshire Business School’s
support to organisations I’ve been supporting the local and international hospitality
sector and as the French businesses are ahead of us in coming out of lockdown
I’ve noted some points to help prepare UK organisations.
After 2 months enduring some of the strictest lockdown
controls in Europe, France is slowly opening up its economy and society. And
the vast, hugely varied accommodation sector, which historically welcomes
visitors across the world, is undergoing a rapid and radical revolution to
ensure it can continue to attract customers in these unprecedented times.
The newly forced need to keep distance and natural sense of
personal safety has fallen well into the hands of some of the self-catering
sector. Private homes and villas, especially those that can offer generous
outside space as well as little or no contact with others, have seen a huge
demand since the 11th of May when the French Prime Minister
officially declared that travel up to 100km was now permitted. The public, who
have been largely “imprisoned” with massively limited scope to be outside their
own homes since the middle of March inevitably have an overwhelming desire for
a change of scenery. However, this is not a universal permission and policy,
and restricted zones still exist across France, and indeed many local
governments, even in the less-infected “green regions” are enforcing the
continuation of heavy trading restrictions and forced closures of accommodation
providers. But where these rules do not apply, the flood gates have opened and
demand, all from customers within the 100km radius, has been significant. Also
worthy of note is that the average length of stay has seen a dramatic increase
for this time of year.
That’s not to say that this is return to normal times for these accommodation owners. French hospitality organisations have had a massive increase in questions about sanitation, personal responsibility and uniform industry standards on cleanliness and contact that the UK accommodation businesses will need to be prepared for when lockdown restrictions are relaxed. As of today, these restrictions haven’t been totally clarified in France, and only “best practice” guides from local tourism authorities exist online. Some of the leading booking platforms and websites for this sub sector are advising “safety gaps” between customers of, for example, 24 hours to allow any surfaces to become less likely to cross contaminate in the future. What is apparent from discussions with French hospitality businesses is that there is an increased desire for customers to have “direct online contact” with the service rather than through online booking platforms. This could be a welcome shift in attitude as this not only allows peace of mind for the customer, but also less commissions for the business owner to pay to the booking platforms which have come under much public criticism and scrutiny of late because of their high charges. One of the French businesses I’ve talked to has had an 800% increase in Facebook messages, their analytics has shown an increase in both mobile and desktop visitors to their website and the number of emails has increased by over 200% compared to last year.
The B&B (Chambres d’hote) and Hotel sector have reported
an uphill challenge. With a mix of different guests under their roofs, all with
potentially varying attitudes to respecting the new government guidelines, this
poses a significant threat to their short- and medium-term existence. However, those
that can offer genuine space, especially outside, have a clear advantage over
those that cannot. Going from one restrictive box to another isn’t likely to be
a great draw for the new discerning needs of the Covid-19 era traveller. Forced confinement has brought about a new
desire to be out and about in nature, and burn off all those excessive calories
consumed since March.
But with the high season fast approaching during which these
businesses would traditionally run at maximum occupancy, the reality is that
these organisations will be forced to not only give “buffers” in between guests
checking out and the next ones checking in, but also run at a lower occupancy
to ensure that interaction between different customers is minimized. Therefore
“Making Hay whilst the sun shines” will this year inevitably bring about a
lower yield, and reduce the vital cashflow which sustains many of these
businesses during the quieter months.
An example of changes implemented is the hotelier Tim Bell and Ingrid Boyer in the Auvergne region of Central France. Tim has developed their website to include a link to their Covid-19 guidance on their home page (see https://chabanettes.com/). This is updated on a regular basis and outlines their commitment to client’s safety. He implements rapid alterations to its usual offerings and has created the foundations for business continuity and customer confidence. He has also set up a Facebook forum for like minded accommodation owners in Europe seeking support and advice. Tim collates industry data, statistics and best practice ideas from all over the accommodation sector and share his opinions and advice with the group.
The sector in which he operates is having to rethink more
radically about its traditional services to ensure competitivity and customer
confidence. This ranges from the provision of catering which is leaning
initially more towards a “Room Service” culture to a complete overhaul of the
check-in/check-out customer touch points, looking to technology and globally
recognised physical safety barriers to reduce risk of viral spread. For an
industry which relies heavily on close, personal contact for their reputation
and overall experience, keeping a balance between customer satisfaction and
safety is proving challenging, but not impossible. Clients now expect a more
sterile and distanced world, with supermarkets leading the way in some innovation
and rethinking of the customer journey that the hotels are learning from, such
as one-way corridors.
Until the world is safely vaccinated against the virus, the accommodation industry will have to adapt quickly and radically to guidelines, legislation and customer fears. History has told us that businesses that do this will have the best chance of survival, and those that don’t not only fear a downturn in business, but also a very visible online reputation for ignoring what is now the number one priority for the 2020 traveller – Safety.
Chatbots are the cost-effective way for a business to stay engaged with their customer 24/7, this blog will discuss why businesses should be including them in their next marketing implementation.
On a very simple level, a bot is just a bit of software that can carry out pre-determined actions on its own without being actively controlled. This is discussed in further detail by Neil Patel who describes it as a “wind up toy”, you build it to carry out what you want it to, you wind it up, and then you let it perform the action it was designed for.
The Customer comes first
The first advantage that a business will notice when introducing chatbots to their marketing is the speed in which the bots reply to customer support messages. This is extremely important as its very common for customers to get very frustrated when made to wait for a human over the phone on through a chat. There is no way to accommodate enough human customer support workers for every customer with a query which results in long wait times. TheModernFirm did a study on customers who have had to call in order to reach customer support, these numbers were found:
“67%
of customers hang up out of frustration when they can’t reach a real person.
75%
of customers think that it takes too long to reach a human being.
72%
of callers who reach an automated/recorded phone line will hang up.”
These problems
will result in lower customer loyalty and eventually a loss of profits.
Implementation of a chatbot would eradicate these problems, A chatbots response is immediate and a customer can have their query solved in a matter of seconds. Customers are also more likely to reach out for support if they see a ‘Live Chat’ button.
More information
Businesses today put a lot of emphasis on knowing everything about their customer, this is normally done through primary research. Information such as what a customer is buying is available as a company can just look at sales statistics, however, products that a customer is choosing not to buy is harder to work out as there are far more variables involved. The best way to gain this information is straight from the customers their selves, this is made possible by the mighty chatbot. Email doesn’t result in as accurate information due to the back and forth nature, a live chat allows the customer to reply naturally which leads to more accurate information.
Modern Evolution
LearningHub stats show that Chatbots will power 85% of customer service by 2020 and by 2022, chatbots will help businesses save over $8 billion per annum. If these stats stay true, which information is leaning towards, companies who HAVEN’T introduced chatbots into their marketing strategy will be left behind. Customers will simply stop doing business with company’s that require extra steps to get what they want. Together with the cost efficiency of the chatbot, It makes less and less sense to continue to pay a human to do an AI’s job. Speaking of humans, its very common for somebody working customer support to make a ‘human’ error, this could be something as simple as interpreting the meaning of a question slightly wrong which can lead to frustration or a loss of sales from the customer.
They’re taking our jobs!
While the AI in a chatbot can usually accommodate for most requests from a customer, it’s very easy for a chatbot to get stuck if a customer’s query is slightly different to its base algorithms that its been taught. Also, as a chatbot learns from the responses it receives from a customer, it can sometimes make the wrong decision internally due not being able to actually choose which decision it wants to make, it is just following the code. An example of this is a Microsoft chatbot used on Twitter being taught racist and misogynistic responses by customers in less than 24 hours, to avoid this, the chatbot must be optimised properly.
Conclusion
There is an endless supply of advantages when it comes to assessing chatbots, they can save your company money and time, improve your customer relations and customer loyalty and ultimately create a better brand image. Although, an influx of AI and bots makes the whole customer service process very impersonal and cold as suggested by Neil Patel. Neil also suggests that chatbots should most definitely be used in their marketing strategies but the businesses should also be careful as to not “water down” their marketing.
Paul Dobson, Senior Lecturer, Staffordshire Business School
Over the past three years, as part of our Digital Marketing courses, we’ve worked with one person per year and enabled them to be influencers earning over £3,000 per month working part-time so I know that there is a proven and systematic way of doing this. See our undergraduate BA (Hons) Marketing Management and Post Graduate MSc Customer and Data Analytics. As part of this, there are some top tips that I’ve learnt.
It doesn’t matter if you’re shy and not out-going.
Some of the best people in my area of Digital Marketing, such as Michael Stelzner and Pat Flynn, have admitted that they’re not extroverts. This helps make them more authentic and real in-front of the mic and camera. Remember as well that when you record your audio or video that no one is listening / watching, you have control and people only see this when you post on social media etc. So you can do this, even if you have uncertainty and fear.
It doesn’t matter if there is competition.
This helps prove that there is a market for your area and they have already set the ground work. You can also be different from them or even compliment them, so that you become partners with them.
Right now, is the best time to start.
When people are in lockdown and a potential
recession may be around the corner this isn’t a barrier. Some of the best
businesses out there such as Disney, Google, Facebook and FedEx started during
a recession. The start-up costs are very
low and the potential is high… There is no reason to delay.
Choose a niche that you love.
You need to treat this as a part-time
business that you need to develop to earn money. It needs working on, so choose
a hobby, past-time, area that you can learn (yes, you can learn a new area and
do this) that you enjoy… I hear people all the time saying I don’t have a
hobby or I don’t do anything and every single person after a chat
has had a good potential area. There are
interesting ways in all areas for example there is someone with over 1.5M
subscribers who cooks with their dog watching (see https://www.youtube.com/cookingwithdog
), so the world really is your oyster.
You do not need complicated equipment.
Some of the influencers we’ve worked with just use their mobile phone but ensured that the sound and video looked OK, e.g. enough light and not a lot of background noise. You can get cheap mobile stands or stands with light fairly cheap online, for example one of the influencers we’re working with at the moment has bought a basic one for less than £4, and a more comprehensive one with a stand etc for less that £13.
Yes, you do need to make time.
As noted above this does need treating like
a job, i.e. don’t put it off, and you do need discipline to keep developing
your materials etc for your niche on a timely regular basis that your audience
can listen to / watch. You will need to develop and post this material at least
once per week but the potential reward is fantastic.
It will need research and keeping an eye on.
You will need to research and consider your
audience and competitors. What areas are people interesting in, need help with,
want to learn, have problems or issues with that you can discuss? What areas are the competitors covering, how
and can you be different or complimentary?
When you start your journey what areas
work, what doesn’t and why? Use these as
learning points to develop your podcasts and videos etc. Always keep an eye on what your audience is
saying, sharing, and listening to / watching for a long time, so that you can
use to improve what you do.
Stay Safe
Paul Dobson MSc, MA, MBA, PGCHPE, Senior Fellow HEA, MIPM, FCMI, MAM Senior Lecturer in Digital and Strategic Marketing uk.linkedin.com/in/paulmddobson/
Vanessa Oakes, Lecturer, Staffordshire Business school
Stress is no longer a mental
health condition that organisations can afford to ignore. In 2018/2019 12.8
million working days were lost due to stress, depression and anxiety (HSE,
2019) at a cost to the economy of £34.9bn. This cost is related to temporarily
replacing absent staff, the cost of disruption to the organisation and lost
opportunity costs, the cost of paid sick leave and the time required to manage
employees who are off work, with an average number of days lost per case at
25.8 (HSE, 2019).
These numbers make for
sobering reading, particularly if you are a business owner or a manager who has
seen sickness absence related to stress, increase in your team. However, there
is more than just a financial cost to the organisation. Your organisation’s
reputation as an employer diminishes with high rates of absence due to stress,
the engagement levels of your staff drop and in response, so does productivity
and all of this happens because you are sending the message to your staff that their
mental health isn’t as important as the performance of the organisation.
When it comes to proactively managing stress in the workplace, there is a lot that can be done to reduce stress before sickness absence takes hold. The CIPD’s 2019 Health & Wellbeing at Work Survey reports that 61% of organisations are recognising this as a priority, at Board level. But what can you actually do to reduce stress for your workforce?
Determine if employees are suffering from work-related stress or stress in their personal lives.
If your employees are experiencing stress at home, this will also impact their productivity too, so help them to acknowledge it and provide as much support as you can. An EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) can help you to offer support to staff without having to pry into their personal lives and will show your employees that you are concerned about them.
If your
employee is suffering from work-related stress, then there is a lot that can be
done to improve their environment. Firstly, take a look at your expectations of
them. Are they achievable and realistic?
Do they have the support and authority needed to do their job? Are they under
excess pressure to deliver? Can their responsibilities be shared by others or
delegated?
Look at your absence management process – is it too harsh or too lenient? Can you build flexibility into your process to ensure you are able to support staff who are suffering with stress?
If too harsh,
it may be forcing staff back to work before they are ready because there is a
financial impact, or they may be afraid for their job security. These staff don’t
get the time to deal with their stress before they are plunged back into it,
and so may get worse over time. Are you conducting return to work interviews
consistently for all staff? This is the best opportunity to determine if you
employee is ready to be back at work.
Where
your absence management process is too lenient, or you don’t have one, do you
know why your staff are off sick? If you don’t know then you can’t help. Maybe
your line managers don’t feel that they can ask such personal questions? If so,
provide training to boost their confidence.
Focus on health and well-being
Communicate
regularly with staff about the importance of their health and wellbeing and ask
them about initiatives they think would improve health and wellbeing for all. It
might be that water coolers within easy reach of desks will mean they are
better hydrated; encouraging walks at lunchtime could improve the mental health
in many different ways; having a space for staff to eat lunch, away from their
desks means that their focus will be away from their work for at least a short
time during the day. Most importantly though, ask them what they think and
follow up on it! They will often have the best ideas about what would improve
things for them.
Make
sure that you react proactively when you suspect an employee is under stress,
don’t wait for them to go off sick. This requires your managers to be more
alert to possible changes in behaviour, timekeeping and work productivity and
quality. Ensure that they receive training in how to start conversations about stress
and mental health, and that they can signpost employees to other services if
they are unable to help.
Finally, it may seem like
managing stress and the related absence is time consuming, costly and
unnecessary, but it has been proven to pay off. The CIPD’s survey found that
three quarters of organisations who implemented proactive health and wellbeing
strategies, however informal, saw a positive improvement in metrics such as morale
and engagement, lower sickness absence, improved employer reputation, better
retention of staff, a reduction in reported work-related stress, improved
productivity and better customer service levels. Supporting your staff through
difficult periods in their personal and working lives pays dividends when it
comes to the success of your organisation. Now is not the time to delay!
Currently, it is even more important than ever to consider the health and wellbeing of staff as they endure lockdown and furlough leave. One thing which no organisation can offer, is certainty but there are ways of encouraging staff to maintain their health and wellbeing whether they are on furlough leave, working from home and trying to juggle childcare and other caring responsibilities. Here are a few tips:
Communicate
with them as regularly as you can – you may not be able to reassure them that
their jobs are safe, or that things will return to normal quickly, but at least
they will know that someone is still looking out for them.
For
staff on furlough leave, ensure that you have given them written details of
their remuneration – try to avoid uncertainly building about how much they will
be paid and when.
Ensure
that managers are in touch with their teams to ensure that each gets individual
support – some employees might be coping well; others might be feeling higher
levels of stress and may need more support.
Remind
your staff about their importance to your business, what their strengths are,
how much they are valued and their latest achievements. They need to hear this
now more than ever.
These steps should help you to maintain an engaged and productive (if they are homeworking) workforce during this challenging time and beyond.
Fang Zhao, Professor of Innovation and Strategy & Associate Dean Research and Enterprise, Staffordshire Business School
Covid-19 outbreak is not only a global
health crisis but also an imminent economic shock. According to the Office for
Budget Responsibility (OBR), the UK economy could shrink by a record 35% by
June 2020 with over 2 million job losses. The International Monetary Fund
warned Covid-19 would push the UK into its deepest recession for a century.
For businesses, it is estimated that the
government’s lockdowns may cost 800,000 to 1 million business closures in the
UK. The sector that is affected the most and is also the most vulnerable is
small businesses which account for 96% of all businesses in the UK (Business
Statistics, 2019). To prevent the catastrophic structural economic damage and
mitigate the huge spike in unemployment, sound economic policy responses are
urgently needed, which goes far beyond government handouts.
Economic restructuring is already happening.
Cloud computing, e-commerce, online entertainment and delivery business are booming,
being inflated by a huge surge in demand while retail (e.g. shops, pubs and
restaurants) and entertainment industries (e.g. cinemas, theatres, and theme
parks) and many others are suffering from heavy losses. Policy makers are
confronting with the unprecedented daunting tasks to make strategic decisions
on how to deal with the pandemic economic restructuring and crisis.
The pandemic outbreak has fuelled disproportionately
the so-called ‘stay-at-home economy’. Working from home is becoming a new norm.
For many this is the beginning of a new life and a new way of work for years to
come. The implication for business is that it is time to rethink and reposition
existing business models, processes, and target markets because consumer
behaviours are changing fast and life will never be the same again.
Although small businesses are the hardest
hit, they are also the most agile ones. Some small businesses have already responded
and adapted quickly to market changes. For examples, some have moved their
businesses entirely online and some shifted their target market from
restaurants and hotels to individual consumers or new markets. New businesses
are also emerging surrounding the stay-at-home economy, such as virtual hair salons
and online gym classes. Over the longer term, Covid-19 has irrevocably changed
the way businesses will run and compete over the next decade.
Researchers at Staffordshire Business School are working hard to help better understand the impacts of Covid-19 on the economy and society and help policy makers develop strategies to tackle the economic fallout and revive the economy. Our staff are also conducting research on the changing behaviours of consumers due to Covid-19. For more information on our research and partnerships, please contact Professor Fang Zhao, Associate Dean – Research and Enterprise at fang.zhao@staffs.ac.uk.
Karl McCormack, Senior Lecturer, School of Justice, security and Sustainability
Being a student is a great time in your life, but living off
a budget can create stress and anxiety. We start university often with limited
skill in budgeting and managing our finances. Students frequently mention
spending mistakes that eat up chunks of their bank balances.
The key is to develop good spending habits starts with
budgeting. Yes, it is time consuming and a real pain, but it enables us to
track money coming in and going out.
By learning to budget well, you will be able to:
Understand your spending and adjust bad spending
habits
Spend less on useless items
Save more money
Keep out of debt
Have money for emergencies or important future
expenses
Learn and prevent future spending mistakes
Learning how to budget will save you a lot of hassle and you
will be learning skills for life.
Biggest mistakes:
Not having a budget!
Sounds crazy doesn’t it? But failing to have a visual budget instead relying on memory for what you have to spend and what you have spent, often leads to thinking you have more money than you really do. It becomes difficult to gauge if something is over your budget and impossible to not overspend as you start to socialise more.
Using your debit card when you pay for something.
Everyone uses their card right? Using cash
is old fashioned? But there are many more pros than cons in using cash rather
than your card. Putting everything on a card creates the illusion of having
more money than you think, that you aren’t actually spending. The realisation
that you do not have unlimited funds, that you are a student living on a budget
(now with no money) will soon kick in.
Students often say they have no idea what
they were spending money on. Tapping a card and not even registering the amount you are
tapping for. This along with not looking at a bank statements or just being confused by the
names you see on it.
So stop using your card, use cash for daily
expenses. Yes you still need a card (online purchases, transport, larger
expenses) for necessities. But for fun expenses, things you don’t really need,
pay by cash. You will notice as the cash disappears and this will give you
greater knowledge of where you are spending your money.
Don’t buy textbooks before attending your first classes.
Every course has a list of recommended
texts and required reading. There are certain benefits to being organised and
preparing. But wait. Internet searching can often reveal the information you
are after.
But what if the book is compulsory? In some lectures the tutor may refer to a core book each week and the questions can only be found in them. You may need to get your hands on a specific book then. You could try:
The university library
Classmates and friends (may have copies they are happy to share)
Social media chats and groups (may get a battered old copy cheap)
Online marketplaces
Online, traditional and second-hand bookstores
Lazyness! Not packing your own lunch.
Ask any student they will say a lot of money
is spent on buying lunch on the days you are in uni. Often prices are not too
high, but they are higher than making your own. You may start with good
intentions, but as time passes the laziness creeps in and you stop packing your
own lunch. Purchasing a lunch can cost £7 or £8 then a drink etc… multiply this
by the number of days you are in uni and the weeks and suddenly you are talking
about a large sum of money.
By knowing what you spend your money on, learning from those
mistakes means you can take steps to ix it. Develop good spending habits, don’t
buy things that you do not need and learn from others.
What are your own spending mistakes? What are your tips?
When lockdown is a thing of the past and businesses emerge from a period of limited or no trading, well-planned, low-budget marketing activity is going to be more important than ever.
Angela Lawrence, Associate Dean of Staffordshire Business School is a Chartered Marketer and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Here she gives advice to small business owners on what they can do now to effectively kick-start their marketing activity.
Have you
ever read a great article, seen a clever piece of advertising, admired a good
picture or felt a pang of jealousy at a distinctive marketing message that one
of your competitors has put out there? Time to get ready to wow your audiences
with clever, meaningful marketing messages that stand out in the crowd.
You know
your business better than anyone and you probably have a wealth of content that
is scattered around in so many places, that you don’t even know the half of
what you have. This could be pictures, staff news, blogs, industry news, or
even quizzes and fun stuff. Now is a great time to build your content into a
bank of resources that can be easily accessed to create some great marketing
content. Create a folder to put it all in, use meaningful titles to label your
content, so that it is easily identifiable when you need it. This is all about
using your time to get organised, so that you don’t have to trawl through all
your files for hours to find that one picture that you want, when you need it
most.
Understand your competitors
When it comes to marketing, nothing could be
more important than knowing your competitors well – after all, you’re trying to
attract the same target audience, so it’s always good to be a step ahead.
Take a
look at their website, their pricing, their marketing activity. Browse their
social media channels – what sort of posts seem to harness engagement and how
do they market their products or services?
In the same way that you created a folder to organise your content bank, create another for competitor insights. Gather all the information you can so that you always have a benchmark to refer to when deciding strategic direction for your marketing activity.
Get to grips with your CSR
Who are YOU
going to buy from when this pandemic is over? How do YOU want to be seen as a
business – greedy, selfish and isolated, or caring, giving and socially
conscious? I’d hazard a guess that we have all questioned our purchasing habits
these past few weeks and that brand loyalty may be eroded for the likes of
Virgin in light of Richard Branson’s approach to the coronavirus crisis.
Now is a good time to consider the social impact of your organisation and whilst it may not be economically viable to provide products or services free of charge, you can still take steps to be seen as an organisation that has a heart. Volunteering within your community is always a good way to make a real impact, consideration of your staff’s wellbeing and flexing working hours to suit childcare arrangements, allowing local charities to use rooms within your premises for meetings – there’s lots that you can do.
Plan, plan, plan!
Now that
you know what your competitors are up to and you have all your content neatly
organised, you can use this time to plan your marketing strategy for the next
12 months or more. Maybe you need to make adjustments to your website or even
plan out a whole social media campaign to ensure that you regularly get
messages about your business and your brands out there. There could well be
platforms that you have yet to explore for your business – with 3.8 billion
social media users worldwide, check out the latest trends in social media usage and make sure you know which platforms are
right for you and your customers and prospects.
Undertaking just one of these activities could make all the difference once trade returns to normal – if truth be known, you should be doing all of this, all of the time. So, my advice would be to do something proactive for the good of your business today. Don’t just sit there and wait, do something now and create good habits to support the future success of your business.
Bring yourself up to date with the modern business world, whilst developing and mastering core business competencies by studying for a degree in Business Management at Staffordshire University
Angela Lawrence, Associate dean, staffordshire business school
For March 2020, Postgrad.com asked Angela Lawrence to be their ‘expert of the month’. Here she explains what the benefits are of studying a business-related masters program…
Angela Lawrence
A business-related masters program is intended to develop a student’s thinking, skills and professionalism to an advanced and specialist level. Bachelor business degrees focus on giving students a broad range of knowledge around business operations, so that they understand the interactions between finance and marketing, operations and HR, and the important leadership and management skills required of a manager within a business environment. To support a more in-depth understanding of the complexities of the modern business environment, masters-level business degrees help students to develop strategic thinking skills that will drive a business forward in tune with fast emerging trends.
So, for me, postgraduate business study is about three things
1. Developing strategic leadership skills by learning how to bring together all elements of business performance, to drive an organisation forward to achieve positive outcomes. A good postgraduate business degree should challenge a student’s thinking and push them out of their comfort zone. It should demand research-based decision-making and equip them with the skills and confidence to drive those decisions through an organisation, harnessing the support of the management team along the way.
2. Gaining transferable skills at a high level. Postgraduate business programs teach transferable skills that are relevant for senior management positions whatever the industry sector. So, whilst there are a variety of masters-level subject-related degrees available, these could actually restrict employment outcomes to specific subject sectors. Studying for an MBA or similar postgraduate business qualification gives a graduate access to a multitude of senior positions that require a strategic thinker who can demonstrate a sound understanding of business environments. This experience is usually gained via project work that is built into the award program. Project modules provide an opportunity for students to demonstrate the full suite of management and leadership competencies that are derived from the program of study.
3. Proving yourself. Studying for a business-related masters program says something about an individual to me. It tells me that they have stamina and resilience in the business world, that they understand how to handle complex business challenges, that they have the confidence to make decisions that could change the direction of a business and that they are not afraid of that change. It tells me that they are a consummate professional and that they recognise the importance of evidence-based decision-making and the requirement to have their finger on the pulse of emerging business opportunities, which can only happen if an enquiring, inquisitive and entrepreneurial mindset is fostered.
In a post-Brexit business environment, more than ever before, businesses will need leaders who possess these attributes in order to survive and thrive.
Develop and master core competencies in support of your management and leadership ambitions. The Staffordshire University MBA is designed to accelerate your professional and personal development and to contribute to the journey of being the best you can be.
Are you struggling
to get your small business a strong following on social media platforms?
Small businesses are often mistaken for believing that social media marketing doesn’t need to be implemented for their company as they already have a loyal, communal following that are aware of who and what they stand for. However, this mindset is limiting the possible audience in and around the local area who aren’t aware of your business, but require your services, which your competitors could easily steal just by being on social media.
A successful social
media campaign will include the following steps, in order to see a growth in
traffic and overall sales:
Create a marketing strategy plan and a set of smart objectives
Research your audience, current trends and market place
Post engaging content to social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, such as competitions, stories, images, videos and polls
Create a relevant hashtag for your audience to share with their friends and family to establish brand identity
Introduce a reward system – this incentive offers rewards to customers after each visit to eventually receive a free product/service will show an increase of returning and loyal customers. An example of this is Starbucks, offering their audience stars to collect to redeem a free drink.
Engage with your audience regularly to build a strong relationship
Using Google Analytics; your small business can then measure what parts of their social media advertising is working and where they are generating traffic from. This could be an opportunity to be more specific in your advertising, and if it is generating interest from people not in the area, you could consider expanding your business globally if there’s a desire for your product/services elsewhere. Expanding your business will therefore increase revenue which you can then be implemented back into your social media campaigns, to continue to grow your brands reputation positively.
