Every potential small business owner dreams of making it big and earning pots of money. That being said, in order to be profitable the venture first has to be a money-saving one. This can turn out to be a tricky affair, especially if your business is in its early stages and cash reserves are low.
Despite the tiny shoestring budgets and the paper-thin margins on which small businesses survive, there is still light for them at the end of the tunnel. Here are some tried and tested smart money-saving practices, which can not only help cut costs but improve the chances of your startup getting future rounds of funding as well.
Utilize efficient currency brokers to manage your transfers:
If you are a small business importer or exporter of global products, there are many advantages of using a UK headquartered currency broker when it comes to processing cross-border payments so as to add value to your business.
Here are some key ways:
Traditional banks are expensive: Opaque charges and huge margins are the norm when dealing with banks. Alternative providers offer near wholesale rates on foreign exchange, thus adding to your profit.
Speedy process: A currency broker will process your conversion transaction in real-time and much faster than the bank.
Access to hedging tools: Business owners who use the services of currency brokerages also get access to hedging tools. Since the global economic crisis has made the FX market volatile, hedging can help protect from these unpredictable risks. Please note all brokers do not offer these types of services, so this should be kept in mind when choosing one.
Currency guidance: Some reputable money transfer companies offer valuable advice on managing FX services that a new or average small business owner may not be able to comprehend. This is one skill that cannot be learned overnight or by reading an article or two online.
Translate your entire website:
Better website localization will allow the small business owner to connect with the target market on a more personal level. If you want to reach out to customers from other countries you can do so by translating your website either by machine or human translation.
When services of human translators are used to translate web pages from one language to another this is known as human translation. There are a number of agencies that provide this service for a fee.
The key takeaway of using human translators is that they can double up as proofreaders as well. In this way, quality is ensured with regards to structure, context, and language nuances. Still one should not rely solely on human translators.
Machine or automated translation, like Google Translate, uses artificial intelligence to translate the content from one language to another. However, unlike human translation, machine translation overlooks language nuances which more often than not results in inaccurate translations. Creating a glossary and style guide is a good way of managing machine translation quality.
Research the local market well:
Market research for small businesses is not an easy game to play. Still, by being a bit creative and using all the tools available you can do affordable market research within your tight budget. Furthermore SMEs are mostly hard-pressed to find time in their day-to-day operations and therefore find it tough to take out extra time for market research.
But fortunately, there are ways to keep in touch with your audience and let business and revenue run at the same time. An example is by using this Kano Model Free Template to help collate your information and prioritize things that are likely to satisfy customers.
SMEs are mostly hard-pressed to find time in their day-to-day operations and therefore find it tough to take out extra time for market research. But fortunately, there are ways to keep in touch with your audience and let business and revenue run at the same time.
If you do local market research in just the areas you plan to sell you can benefit by:
- Identifying more customers interested in your company
- What your competitors are within the market for that customer group.
- How far would people drive to get to your location?
- Determine the size of your market and a geographic idea of the area.
Recognition is important:
Almost all small business owners communicate with their customers through phone, mail, or personally on a day-to-day basis. It is very important for small businesses to be visible to the local community. For them to know you, recognition is important as this will give your startup a distinct edge over other competitors.
Through regular networking, you can remain updated on the latest business trends and also build up awareness for yourself. Gradually, with the passage of time, customers will be able to recognize your service as reliable and helpful.
Getting access to local contacts will allow them to see what your business offers which in turn will translate into more leads and as a result more opportunities. There are many powerful platforms that can provide you with the option to create lists from your contacts to segment them in different ways.
The usual way adopted to stay in touch with contacts is by sending them regular newsletters. Through this variable information, they will stay connected with the company. Send information to only those who opt for it and not those who choose to unsubscribe from your mailing lists.
If you decide to use software to manage your contacts, prior research is important. Use only those programs which allow you to make lists freely and with no limit, with options of uploading or downloading data whenever needed. Your contacts are valuable, so storing them in a flexible way is the key to success in marketing.
Boost growth and revenue:
Time and again it has been seen that those small businesses which set different prices for different markets grow faster than their counterparts by as much as 30% in their localized regions.
By price localization, the business owner can adjust prices as per the local market, rather than charging customers the same amount in the same currency in all markets. Apart from revenue, price localizing helps you connect better, especially if you are localizing your software also with different languages.
The world is becoming smaller day by day and the tools to localize are also becoming easier to use, so take advantage now lest you want to lose out on the gains made by others.
Conclusion:
Just as every business is different, so are the ways to trim down the financial fat in each of them. Having said that, even if your business is at a peak, it is always a good idea to continue cost-cutting to prepare for any future downturns that may come with a hefty price tag. So to improve your bottom line just stick to these ideas to improve your cash flow:
- Take help of Tax advisor.
- Use a reputed currency broker for your foreign exchange transactions.
- Opt for optimum web localization.
- Using a UK headquartered currency broker for small businesses importers and exporters operating has many advantages.
- Identify your competitors within your market.
- Be visible to the local community.
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