Lesley Beagley is the Admin Guru and CRM Queen. She runs an online course for small business owners to learn some of the techniques she uses to help her Admin Consultancy clients to streamline their admin processes and free up time for the important stuff. You can download her free INSIDER SECRETS report at www.SmallBizAdmin-sorted.co.uk

I remember when I set up my first business. There I was with my ‘Big Idea’ and my enthusiasm, frantically trotting round to every networking event I could get to, collecting bucket-loads of business cards and believing every single person I talked to would be a customer before the end of the first quarter!

It was brilliant. I was so excited. I felt like I’d finally escaped from the drudgery of employment and as my own boss would have the freedom to do what I wanted, when I wanted. But oh how quickly things can change!

I actually was pretty successful early on, and I started getting lots of enquiries through my networking, but with the phone ringing with new customers and repeat clients, and suddenly I realized that stuff was falling through the cracks. I was forgetting to follow up with new leads, not getting my invoices out quickly enough and worse still, not really keeping on top of making sure I’d been paid! The work I was delivering to my clients started to suffer; definitely not the way to build a business.

I was working all hours and at the weekends, stressed out and exhausted before the official working week had even begun!

That’s when I realized my fundamental mistake. I’d gone into business to follow a dream, and only thought about the good bits. What I hadn’t really counted on, or allowed for in my ‘Time Budget’ was having to do all my own admin as well as delivering the work for my clients, on top of being my own Marketing Director, Finance Director and general fixer of all things!

Now, as an Administrative Process Consultant time and time again I see business owners, maybe a year or so into their business, struggling because they didn’t start out with some basic processes and systems in place that would simplify their lives. Often, they are now so busy they just don’t have time to change things, so they muddle on through, working more and more hours yet standing still in their business.

So, whilst your business is young & fresh, get ahead of the game by making sure you can MANAGE your business before you start to market it too intensely!

Get your cores systems in place:

• A filing system – both for physical and electronic files. Ideally set them up with the same basic structure
• Marketing communications system – something like MailChimp for newsletters and autoresponders, ideally linked to a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system like Capsule
• Accounts system – whether it’s based on excel spreadsheets or a cloud based package that both you and your accountant you can log into from anywhere.

Start with the end in mind:

• Set up your systems in readiness for where you want your business to be, not where it is right now

Plan your work and work your plan

• Get into the habit from day one of planning your diary – at the start of each month and at the start of each week
• Plan your admin, marketing and accounts time in for specific days each week or month – make these strict appointments with yourself
• Review your diary each night before closing down for the evening so you don’t get caught out by forgetting early appointments
• Build in buffers between appointments to allow time for interruptions, a coffee or even just 5 minute off to enjoy the sunshine!

If you are a business that has been around for a while and is already beginning to struggle?

Take a little time to implement these ideas now; as the ancient Chinese proverb says:

“The BEST time to plant a tree was 20 years ago…the second best time is NOW!”

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With the increasing popularity of online business networking sites such as LinkedIn, the importance of the humble business card has been brought into question with some people claiming that the business card is dead.

After all, LinkedIn and other similar sites hold more information than your standard business card and offer a great way to connect with new people outside without having to attend a networking event or show but here at Goodprint, we believe that the business card is far from dead and is vital in the world of business.

Business cards are still high in demand from printing companies across the world but how do you make sure yours can still compete in the days where digital communication has all but taken over? We’ve put together a short list of ways you can ensure yours can still stay on the top of the pile when everything is becoming digital?

• Design is still #1

You still need your business card to be memorable. This is particularly important if you’re preparing for a networking event where dozens of business cards will undoubtedly be exchanged so you need to make sure your card really stands out.

• Remember your social connections

As more and more people start using social networking sites such as Twitter and LinkedIn, you’ll find that these will be the first places people will research you and your company. Show you have nothing to hide by including your Twitter handle (e.g @goodprint), Facebook Page and even your LinkedIn URL on your card.

• Try a QR code

Many people have started to using mobile apps such as CardMunch to store business card information to their phones. Keep up with the trend by creating a QR code of your contact details and add it to your business card design. We even have templates available to help you generate your code.

If you incorporate all of these things into your latest business card design, your card is more likely to stand out at your latest networking events.

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Direct mail is one of the most effective ways you can promote your small or start-up business and engage with your local community, one of the many reasons why it is continually used by companies of all sizes. Just think of all the leaflets and flyers you get through your letterbox for take-away food companies large and small.

Direct mail isn’t always easy to get right so we’ve put together a short list of some of the most common mistakes so you know exactly what you should avoid while you’re working on your next campaign.

• Poor copy

Poor quality copy and spelling mistakes will lead to people losing respect and faith in your company and certainly will not encourage potential customers to engage with your brand as it isn’t professional.

• Not including contact info

Common sense, we know, but an easy mistake to make. It’s one of the most obvious things you need to include but occasionally people are so absorbed by creating the perfect design that the simplest things slip their mind. You just need to remember, how can people engage with your brand if you haven’t told them how? You should also always include your social media accounts as these days these are the first places many people will start to research your brand.

• Not including a promotion

Promotions and discounts are two of the most effective ways you can convert people into customers. Everyone loves free stuff and you’ll find that you’re likely to see higher levels of engagement through these mailers than through those without.

• Not stressing the benefits

Why should people want to engage with your brand? What’s in it for them? You need to emphasise why people should be using your brand rather than others.

• No testing

Testing is one of the basic fundamentals of direct mail. Testing gives you an insight into whether or not your campaign will be successful or it will highlight the areas where you’re going wrong. Whether it’s through your design, lists or choice of promotion.

If you’ve made any other mistakes we may have missed through your direct mail campaigns, let us know in the comments below

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Instagram is rapidly becoming one of the most popular social media platforms and it grows every day. Over 40 million photos are uploaded to the platform every day with more than 100 million active monthly users, from standard user accounts to celebrities and even businesses, us included.

As with any social network, it’s not easy to promote your brand on Instagram and it can seem rather daunting, but as it’s a more visual platform you are able to use your creativity to capture the attention of your audience and enhance brand awareness.

A lot of people are still unfamiliar with the platform so if you need some help getting started, here are a few top tips from the Goodprint team.

Set up your profile

Nice and easy to start off with. See if your brand name is available for your Instagram handle and make your profile as ‘on brand’ as possible. Use your company logo as your profile picture and add your company website to your description.

Promote your account on your site

To build your Instagram network effectively, you need to make sure people know you are there. One of the easiest ways to do this is by targeting your current fan base; add the Instagram buttons to your website and even share your most recent uploads on your blog through something like a monthly Instagram roundup.

Use your other social channels

Since the Facebook purchase of Instagram in April 2012, it’s now even easier to share your Instagram uploads on the platform so that they are seen by a larger network and so more people know that you are using Instagram. If you choose to share through Twitter as well, even though it’s not as visual the use of Hashtags in your post will cross over and your Instagram posts will become a part of more conversations across the two platforms.

Use Hashtags

Just like Twitter, using hashtags in your posts will include your uploads in a much larger conversation. There are lots of ways you can use hashtags to optimise your reach; you can use them in your username (although this option isn’t for everyone), include them in your photo descriptions, include them in comments and even use them to promote your latest offers and competitions. You’ll be surprised how popular #competitions is. Don’t over do it though otherwise you’ll risk looking like a spam account.

Engage with others

Instagram isn’t only about sharing your photos, it’s a social network so you should be using it as one. Interact with other users by liking and commenting on their photos and watch your following grow as you gradually appear in more newsfeeds.

Show your product

Ultimately, as a business one of your main objectives behind using social media is to reach out to new audiences and increase your sales. In order to do this, you really need to be showing your potential customers the quality of your product, how they can use it and how it can benefit them.

Introduce your employees

One of the problems that many people see with businesses on Social Media is that they can seem robotic and soulless. One way you can avoid this is by introducing your employees. Upload photographs of them or tag them in photo descriptions, this humanises your account and gives your followers a ‘behind the scenes’ insight to your business.

If you have some favourite Instagram shots you can order your Instagram photo prints and magnetic prints from Goodprint.

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Lesley Beagley is the Admin Guru and CRM Queen. She runs an online course for small business owners to learn some of the techniques she uses to help her Admin Consultancy clients to streamline their admin processes and free up time for the important stuff. You can download her free INSIDER SECRETS report as www.SmallBizAdmin-sorted.co.uk

When you are just starting out in business there’s a LOT to think about!
Assuming your product or service is already clearly defined, you still have to work out your marketing strategy, get your branding designed, set up a website perhaps, get some stationary printed (using GoodPrint of course!), register your business, find an accountant… the list seems almost endless!

And the chances are a lot of your attention will be on getting started with promoting your business and finding those first few crucial customers.

And there’s no doubt about it, getting (and keeping) customers is probably the single most important aspect to growing a business.

BUT…
Time and time again as a professional Admin Consultant I see small business owners, perhaps just a year or two into their business, struggling to stay on top of all they have to do.

They often started their business so they could be their own boss and have the freedom to spend time with their families and in leisure pursuits, but find themselves working evenings and weekends and feeling stressed and burnt out before their working week even begins!
Usually this is because they start out just doing what they do and muddling through with keeping things in their heads, and that was fine when they had only one or two customers, but as the marketing kicks in and they get busier in doing whatever it is they do, one of the first things to go is their admin, and that includes the follow up of new leads and the building of customer relationships.

And it only gets worse. As you get busier and busier, more and more will fall through the cracks unless you have some processes and systems in place that allow you to stay on top.
By setting up some basic systems and processes BEFORE you need them you can avoid many of these problems. One of the most essential systems, in my opinion is a CRM or Customer Relationship Management system.

This is NOT a CRM

Trouble is, there are thousands of them out there, and they range in price from just a few pounds per user per month to several thousands of pounds. So where do you start?

Here are six things to think about when deciding on a CRM

1. Think ahead of where you PLAN to be, rather than where you are right now Choose your CRM system that will grow with you. Or at least make sure that you will be able to export ALL of your data – including contact history – should you need to move on in the future

2. Consider how the CRM you are reviewing will work with other systems
Will it, for example, share data easily with an accounting package or a newsletter system or online shopping cart? Integration is the watchword here!
3. Think about how you could share your CRM with someone else – without sharing your computer.
Perhaps you need to opt for a ‘cloud’ based solution. This is all about Delegation – you may be on your own now, but at some point you will need another pair of hands!

4. Is it customizable?
Can you add custom fields for data that is important in your particular business?

5. Can you easily maintain a record of all your interactions with a customer
For example, does it integrate with your email system, or can you send emails into it and attach documents if needed?

6. Can you set up automated workflows and tasks to ensure you can duplicate a process for following up with leads and customers?

This isn’t the whole story, of course, and my best advice is to review several systems, download free trials where they are available, upload some test data and really put a system through its paces before committing. It may take a bit of an investment of time, but it will save you much time and heartache in the future!

Do it now, before you get too busy!

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