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Due to the current <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/ways-coronavirus-can-affect-your-business-and-precautions-you-should-consider/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">COVID-19</a> outbreak, most consumers are expecting a recession in 2021. Based on <a href="https://www.civisanalytics.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Civis-_LEK-FINAL-deck.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a survey</a> that analyzed around 2,600 American adults, from 80% to up to 90%, believe a recession will happen next year. With the online spending on the rise and <a href="https://searchengineland.com/covid-consumers-pessimistic-but-spending-more-online-331519" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">more than 30%</a> of the income going to grocery purchases and other goods, it’s crucial to budget our finances now more than ever, especially in these uncertain financial times. Plus, the better we handle the budget, the less likely we are to stress out. 

So, managing income wisely should come first. Here are five ways to budget in these uncertain times.
<h3> 1. Draft Up a Spending Plan</h3>
According to <a href="https://hr.nd.edu/assets/74200/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Melanie Hardie</a>, a senior financial consultant at Ceridian, writing down a spending plan should be your top priority. A well-made plan will give you proper insight into your debt and income. That way, you can figure out your purchasing priorities. 

<a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img class="img-fluid alignnone wp-image-4051 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2020/04/architect-engineer-draft-blueprint-plan-design-con-PA94VC3.jpg" alt="Man creating a Plan" width="2000" height="1511" /></a>

To do that, write down your total income. Plan out your spending routine based on everything you have to pay and deduct the cost from your income. This will give you a general idea of where the money goes. 
<h3> 2. Cut Back on Your Spending Habits</h3>
With the spending plan, you will have a clear guideline of what to spend the money on. But, the key to making it work is to learn to differentiate "wants" from "needs." If you focus on the necessities, you will always have the budget to cover the "needs."  

So, try to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/cbrennan/2020/03/25/6-essential-money-moves-to-make-in-uncertain-times/#710a7c233387" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cut back on</a> investments and spend as little as possible on bills or anything else that might come in handy. For example, instead of ordering take out, cook at home, brew your own coffee, pay attention to the electric bill, etc. 
<h3> 3. Ditch the Credit Cards and Use Cash Instead</h3>
According <a href="https://www.valuepenguin.com/credit-cards/credit-card-spending-studies" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">to studies,</a> when people pay with credit cards, they can spend up to 83% more than they would if they paid in cash. 

If you don’t think you can handle your spending, try to pay with cash. The more you carry the money around, the more you realize its worth. Therefore, you are less likely to spend it on anything that is unnecessary. 
<h3> 4. Set Money Aside for Your Emergency Fund</h3>
Always be ready for the worst-case scenario, and with possible financial struggles on the way, you should try to save up as much as you can. That's where an emergency fund can come in handy. Set aside enough cash to get you <a href="http://blog.invisor.ca/how-to-manage-your-household-finances-in-uncertain-times" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">through 3 to 6 months</a>. These funds should be enough to cover the basic expenses. 

<a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img class="img-fluid alignnone wp-image-4052 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2020/04/man-putting-dollar-banknote-into-piggy-bank-XDEBQ8H.jpg" alt="Personal investment, a man placing money into a piggy bank" width="2000" height="1333" /></a>
<h3> 5. It’s Never too Late to Ask for Help</h3>
There are plenty of financial planners that can help you stay on track. Even if the stock market could be going down, it’s better to manage your finances than to spend them all. A financial planner can show you where you are going wrong. They can guide you on how to re-locate your funding, develop a plan, or set up goals. When it comes to making a decision, it’s hard to go wrong with an experienced financial planner. 
<h2>Conclusion </h2>
Managing the budget is never easy, especially in these uncertain financial times such as these. But, sometimes, all it takes is a step in the right direction. Now that you know your possibilities for managing your finances, you will be more prepared to handle your money. Plus, you will be much more comfortable with your spending habits. 

Did you find our guide helpful? Have you tried any of these methods before? Let us know in the comments below.

5 Strategies to Help you Cope With Uncertain Financial Times

Back view at modern African American man using laptop with graphs and charts while working at cafe table in eco friendly interior, copy space

Businessman Analyzing Marketing Statistics

Learn how you can future proof your business by adapting these key business trends and best practises in technology, networking & marketing in 2021.

Changing Business Trends in Technology, Networking & Marketing in 2021

The pre-pandemic world was when we shuffled between the digital and real world. However, the pandemic has forced tech-facilitated digital existence upon us. Businesses too didn’t escape this transition. <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/covid-19-impact-growing-small-and-medium-businesses-are-investing-more-in-technology/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">More than 50 per cent of small businesses</a> say that technology is driving their customer interactions. 1 in 4 small business owners has accelerated their investment in technology since the pandemic.

Businesses are also looking for innovative ways to network with like-minded business owners and educate customers digitally. Both consumers and event organisers have shown a preference for virtual events, with over 1 million virtual events organised in 2020. Aiding these efforts are the innovative digital branding exercises that businesses are coming up with. Digital marketing spends among small businesses is seeing a jump.

In this article, I will review business trends in technology, networking, and marketing for 2021.
<h2>Technology Trends</h2>
You are a small business owner. You may not really be aware of the advancements unfurling in the tech industry. However, this does not mean that your business should stay behind. By embracing changing trends, you can surely leverage technology to grow your business. They will also improve the efficiency of your day-to-day processes.
<h3>Changing Trends in Business: Expected technological trends for 2021</h3>
<h4>1. Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics will see an increase in demand</h4>
Throughout 2020, AI and Machine learning (ML) were hot topics. Businesses will continue incorporating them into their processes in 2021 too. Application is diverse, ranging from personalised customer experiences to voice assistants.

Meredith Schmidt, executive VP and GM of small businesses and essentials at Salesforce says, “AI will help small businesses offer more personalized experiences to their customers by maximizing their time and automating manual tasks.”

A majority of small businesses often cite the challenge of insufficient time. Using AI solutions can help them be more efficient.

Success story: <a href="https://www.companynurse.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Company Nurse</a>, a US-based company offers an array of facilities such as:
<ul>
 	<li>Nurse triage services,</li>
 	<li>COVID-19 screening, and</li>
 	<li>Workplace injury reporting for employers.</li>
</ul>
The company is leveraging AI on several fronts, right from classifying the data of private workers, data analytics, and sales lead generation to identify zero-day security vulnerabilities and speech-to-text transcriptions.

Since investing in AI, Company Nurse has <a href="https://www.infoworld.com/article/3615449/3-enterprise-ai-success-stories.html">observed multiple benefits</a> including:
<ul>
 	<li>Better work-life balance for employees,</li>
 	<li>Enhanced security, and</li>
 	<li>Improved service quality to its clients.</li>
</ul>
Another example here is that of <a href="https://cafexapp.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Café X</a>, where the owners have installed a robot coffee maker. Not only have they been more productive but they can serve coffee at <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/30/cafe-x-opens-in-san-francisco-bringing-robots-to-the-coffee-shop/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">almost half of the regular prices.</a>

<div id="attachment_10337" align="aligncenter" width="598"><a href="https://cafexapp.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img class="img-fluid wp-image-10337 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/08/cafex.png" alt="" width="598" height="443" /></a> Image credit: Café X</div>
<h4>2. Comprehensive and improved HR collaborative tools</h4>
2020 saw an unprecedented surge in the need for comprehensive human resource tools. These tools help business owners track their employees’ performance and manage their requirements. Remote working is not going away anytime soon. That is why experts believe this trend to continue in 2021 and beyond.

"The shift to remote work has changed businesses in terms of productivity, engagement, culture, two-way communication and employee development, and has highlighted the need for effective technology to help navigate these challenges," <a href="https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/10469-business-technology-trends.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">says</a> Rhiannon Staples, Chief Marketing Officer at Hibob.
<h4>3. Unified software will finally see a breakthrough</h4>
Do you use different software to:
<ul>
 	<li>Connect with your teams?</li>
 	<li>Send emails?</li>
 	<li>Manage leads and customers?</li>
 	<li>Plan projects? and</li>
 	<li>Store data?</li>
</ul>
Of course. The modern workplace has a solution for every problem. There’s Salesforce for customer management, Gmail and Outlook for emails, Slack for chats, and Drive for storage. But how do you ensure that every platform is connected with the other? Especially when even your IT team is working remotely?

2021, it seems, will finally see a breakthrough. Integrated platforms will become prevalent, allowing software to connect seamlessly with each other.
<h4>4. Cybersecurity will have more focus</h4>
Cyber-attacks are quite prevalent today. In fact, small and medium businesses are particularly more vulnerable to data breaches. Accenture’s <a href="https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/security/cost-cybercrime-study" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cost of Cybercrime Study</a> shows that 43% of attacks target small businesses. Out of these, only 14% are equipped to defend themselves. <a href="https://www.embroker.com/blog/cyber-attack-statistics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">According to embroker,</a> by 2025, cybercrime will cost companies an estimated $10.5 trillion annually.

2021 will see businesses protecting their digital assets and confidential customer data with robust cybersecurity measures. In fact, the global spending on cybersecurity measures is predicted to exceed $1 trillion in the cumulative five-year period from 2017 to 2021.

&nbsp;

<div><a href="https://www.embroker.com/blog/cyber-attack-statistics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img class="img-fluid wp-image-10338 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/08/cbc1.png" alt="global spending on cybersecurity products and services" width="602" height="426" /></a> Image credits: Embroker </div>
<h2>Networking Trends</h2>
COVID-19 crisis was the trigger, but the networking and events industry was already on the brink of transformation.
<h3>Changing Trends in Business: Expected networking trends for 2021</h3>
<h4>1. Hybrid IS the future </h4>
2020 was the year of virtual events. However, for those expecting virtual events to take the front seat – hybrid events will be the showstoppers. The final quarter of 2020 saw a marked rise in the number of hybrid events. Experts predict that their adoption will only increase in the near future.

Interestingly, the future of hybrid events is quite enthralling. Participants can expect integrated experiences combining the irreplaceable in-person interactions with the reach and insights of the virtual.

Success story: <a href="https://blog.bizzabo.com/hybrid-event-examples" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Empower 21</a> announced a hybrid event on February 22nd and 23rd, 2021. It was one of the first hybrid events and it had everyone’s undivided attention. Empower 21 allowed virtual and physical attendees to register exactly the same way. From workshops to keynotes and luncheons, enhanced integration allowed virtual attendees to interact seamlessly with their in-person counterparts.
<h4>2. Growing demand for strong online communities </h4>
With eCommerce expanding, buyers are looking for places to share information about brands, products, and services. Therefore, there is a huge potential for online B2B and B2C communities. This means more virtual exhibitions, webinars, digital product launches, and tradeshows. Removing the physical element of attending bolsters accessibility and encourages more participation.

<div id="attachment_10339" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10339 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/08/virtual-meeting.jpg" alt="woman having video call on online communities" width="2000" height="1332" /> Young woman having a virtual meeting</div>

Success story: <a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/blog/eventbrite-inside-look-report-ds0c/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Eventbrite</a> reports that despite the initial hiccup due to the pandemic in 2020, both consumers and creators got on board with virtual events quickly. By June 2020, attendees were spending 28x more time in virtual events than in January 2020. By November, this figure jumped to 34x. All in all, a whopping 75 million attendees registered in over one million virtual events in 2020, logging more than 100 million hours!
<h4>3. Networking in-person will still be practised</h4>
While hybrid events will take the centre stage, in-person interactions will still be relevant. This will especially be true for the industry leaders. Countries with fewer COVID-19 cases, strict safety regulations, and massive testing will emerge as key meeting destinations in the world.
<h2>Marketing trends</h2>
81% of shoppers research online before buying a product. In fact, 60% of potential customers start their product research with a query on search engines before heading to any website. As many as 64% of small businesses have a website. All this data from <a href="https://www.fundera.com/resources/small-business-marketing-statistics">fundera</a> clearly points to one thing – marketing is poised to be the game-changer for small businesses in 2021.
<h3>Changing Trends in Business: Expected small business marketing trends for 2021</h3>
<h4>1. The need to work the fallout of the pandemic in the marketing strategy</h4>
Vaccination is a welcome move, but there’s no telling when the restrictions imposed by governments will be lifted. The pandemic has had an enormous impact on buyer behaviour and marketing strategies, and some of these changes will be permanent.

This is why small business owners must update their market research. Every industry has been affected differently. Some have seen growth while others are struggling. To help your business survive and grow, you need to invest in new market and demographic research for 2021 and beyond.
<h4>2. Purpose-driven and charitable marketing</h4>
2020 was bleak and depressing, but it certainly brought out the best in humans on many occasions. Viral hashtags like #SaveLocalBusinesses are a testimony to this statement. However, consumers also expect the same empathy from businesses. In fact, they prefer brands with a charitable or a social edge.

Businesses need to offer a human-first approach if they want to be relevant to customers in 2021. A Deloitte <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/insights/us/articles/6963_global-marketing-trends/DI_2021-Global-Marketing-Trends_Purpose_US.pdf">report</a> states, “brands need to be deeply attuned to why they exist and who they are built to serve.”

Success story: BrewDog, the beer giant, offered their pubs as <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/brewdog-coronavirus-covid-vaccine-centres-b1781289.html">temporary vaccination centres in the UK</a>. The company also promised a free can of beer to anyone vaccinated on their premises. Such gestures put brands in a positive light and give customers a sense of purpose while shopping.
<h4>3. Social media will emerge as the top-purchase channel</h4>
There’s a reason why <a href="https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/instagram-stats">90% of the top 100 brands are on Instagram.</a> Making sales via social media was once a pipe dream, but it has become a reality in a relatively quick span. From discovery to purchase, brands are leveraging social media to allow shoppers to buy with a single click – without even opening the browser. Small businesses, can, and should, jump on this wagon and leverage it to generate revenue.

Success story: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/cluse/">CLUSE</a> is a stunning example of user-generated content or UGC in action. The IG feed of the brand showcases a shoppable feed that exemplifies elegance. The company credits its evangelists by tagging and has a whopping 899k follower base. 

The brand uses a purchasable feed to make things easier for eager shoppers. It is masterful proof that brands can sell while gaining more followers online.

<div id="attachment_10340" align="aligncenter" width="602"]<a href="https://www.instagram.com/cluse/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img class="img-fluid wp-image-10340 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/08/cbc3.png" alt="showcasing product images on social media a latest business trend" width="602" height="399" /></a> Image credits: Cluse on Instagram</div>

READ ALSO: <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/how-to-use-social-commerce-for-your-business/">HOW TO USE SOCIAL COMMERCE FOR YOUR BUSINESS?</a>

Conclusion

2020 was supposed to be a good year. But the way it turned out, it’s difficult to predict how 2021 will be. However, based on experience, it is best for businesses to be prepared for anything. Flexibility and agility are a must-have to pivot the business in new directions at a moment’s notice. Hopefully, these business trends will help small businesses to adapt and grow better.

Business Trends in Technology, Networking, and Marketing in 2021

People purchsing goods e-commerce online shopping

Social commerce gives businesses capability to sell on more than primary social media platforms. Learn how to take advantage of social commerce here.

How To Use Social Commerce For Your Business ?

While shopping at physical locations still remains a useful option for people to get groceries and other essentials, more and more people are turning to online stores. E-commerce platforms offer businesses a way of reaching a wider audience. These digital stores are also convenient for the customer - as they are now able to buy anything from food to clothing and more from the comfort of their couch. 

In 2020, over four billion dollars were<a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/379046/worldwide-retail-e-commerce-sales/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> spent on eCommerce stores</a>. It is estimated that this figure will increase to over six billion by the year 2024. Worldwide, e-commerce sales will account for an<a href="https://www.oberlo.com/blog/ecommerce-statistics" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> estimated 18.1%</a> of all retail sales recorded in the year 2021. 

<div id="attachment_10282" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10282 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/08/socialC4.jpg" alt="women making inventory of ecommerce products " width="2000" height="1333" /> Small business owner, running their e-commerce store.</div>

Recently, we’ve seen a move toward social commerce too. This trend gives businesses the capability to sell on more than just the primary social media platforms - including Facebook and Instagram. We take a closer look at these trends, as well as how you can take advantage of social commerce for your own business. 
<h2>What Exactly Is Social Commerce?</h2>
Before diving into strategies to use with social commerce, let us first consider what social commerce is. We also look at how it fits into modern-day marketing and sales. Social commerce has similarities to more traditional eCommerce solutions. The major difference, however, is that with social commerce, your business takes advantage of social media platforms to sell products or services. One<a href="https://sproutsocial.com/insights/data/harris-insights-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> study</a> reports that 80% of businesses have either already started to sell on social media or plan to do so in the upcoming years. 

Social commerce has also become quite a diverse topic. Many social platforms have started to offer integrated eCommerce features. The technique involves technology that allows for sales to be made directly on the social media platform - instead of having to direct a customer to a website or eCommerce platform first. 

Another thing to note is that there are several social media tools in eCommerce. This includes customer ratings and reviews, social shopping tools (sharing the act of shopping online), forums and communities, and social advertising, to name a few. But all these tools help with marketing and increasing sales.
<h2>Social Implications of Ecommerce</h2>
Before I continue, there are also social implications of eCommerce that need to be noted.

Social commerce is taking the market by storm. From being used as a mere showcase for brands to become a virtual storefront, now capable of running the whole shopping experience without users being redirected to the brand's website. It is forecasted that by 2021, the global social commerce market will increase by about <a href="https://www.thedrum.com/profile/superb-media/news/the-rise-of-social-commerce-and-its-impact-on-ecommerce" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">34%</a>.

But will this impact eCommerce stores? and will this impact sales on business websites? Small business owners will save money and resources while building their brand. But their core brand message has the potential of not standing out on these social platforms. As they will have restrictions.

However, using social commerce has improved user experience. As they have reduced the click journey, which is essential to facilitate sales and enhances conversion rates.

It is too soon to predict if these social commerce platforms will thrive or fail. But one thing is for sure, the social implications of eCommerce shows us that the eCommerce landscape has evolved.  
<h2><span data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;social commerce vs ecommerce&quot;}" data-sheets-userformat="{&quot;2&quot;:573,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;5&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:[{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;5&quot;:[null,2,0]},{&quot;1&quot;:0,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;3&quot;:3},{&quot;1&quot;:1,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;4&quot;:1}]},&quot;6&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:[{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;5&quot;:[null,2,0]},{&quot;1&quot;:0,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;3&quot;:3},{&quot;1&quot;:1,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;4&quot;:1}]},&quot;7&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:[{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;5&quot;:[null,2,0]},{&quot;1&quot;:0,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;3&quot;:3},{&quot;1&quot;:1,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;4&quot;:1}]},&quot;8&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:[{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;5&quot;:[null,2,0]},{&quot;1&quot;:0,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;3&quot;:3},{&quot;1&quot;:1,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;4&quot;:1}]},&quot;12&quot;:0}">Social Commerce vs eCommerce: How Does Social Commerce And Ecommerce Differ?</h2>
Even though similarities exist, it is important to understand how traditional eCommerce stores differ from social commerce platforms. To provide a better overview of the differences, we will consider the use of social media to assist in selling products online. 

With a standard eCommerce platform, you would have a specific website where all of your products are sold. You would then promote the content that can be found on the store on a Facebook page or perhaps by publishing a photo or video on Instagram. If a customer is interested in the products you offer, they need to follow a link to your eCommerce store - and then complete their purchase. 

With social commerce, things are a bit different. You can set up a storefront directly on a social media platform - displaying prices and allowing customers to add products to a cart. In this scenario, interested individuals can complete the entire checkout process directly on the social platform. There is no need for the customer to visit another website - which means the process takes one less step, possibly increasing the chances of making a sale. 
<h2>Using Social Commerce For Your Business</h2>
You've decided to use social commerce as a way to improve your business. Now, it is important to understand the steps to take. 

The first part is to consider which commerce platforms you would like to use. There are a few options available, but Facebook and Instagram are currently considered the best options. You can decide to target only one of these or use both to further increase your chances of getting more sales. There are a few steps to follow to ensure the campaigns you launch will be successful. We take a look at these steps below.
<h3>1. Researching The Target Audience</h3>
Simply setting up a storefront on a social media platform without knowing what the ideal customer expects can produce disappointing results. With this in mind, start by doing some extensive research on your audience. A basic understanding at first can help - but continue collecting data as your business grows on a social commerce platform too. Use the data you collect to make appropriate adjustments, which would ensure your store adapts to customer expectations and habits. 
<h3>2. Build A Store That Represents Your Branding</h3>
When setting up a social commerce storefront, you should ensure the design matches your brand identity. Be sure to add a clear and high-resolution logo. Add additional visual elements to the storefront, which would help to make it more attractive. At the same time, avoid overcomplicating the design. 
<h3>3. Add Or Import Products</h3>
If your business is already using an eCommerce platform, it is sometimes possible to import products from this system to the social commerce account. This can be a convenient way to get products in your store without manually adding them one by one. 

If the platform you use does not have support for importing, then set aside some time to add products you wish to sell on the social commerce platform. In some cases, a spreadsheet offers a good alternative for importing products. 
<h3>4. Choose The Right Payment Options</h3>
A large number of individuals prefer to pay with a credit or debit card, but some may also have a preference for alternative payment options. Google Pay, Apple Pay, and several alternatives have become convenient one-click payment solutions in the modern-day. 

<div id="attachment_10284" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10284 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/08/socialC2.jpg" alt="women making payment for online purchase" width="2000" height="1305" /> Close-up of a woman sitting at the table via online store using a credit card</div>

Make sure the social commerce store you set up can offer customers access to payment options that are suitable to their preferences. A larger variety of payment options give the customer more choices to consider. This also shows that you consider the client's needs.
<h3>5. Add Valuable Content</h3>
Once your store is up, don’t forget to focus on the page itself too. You do not want to focus only on the promotion of products that are now being sold through your store. Ensure you still post valuable content to the timeline on your business’s page - content that customers can relate to and find helpful in their everyday lives. 
<h2>Best Social Commerce Platforms</h2>
Several social media platforms have already introduced a series of commerce solutions that businesses can take advantage of. Currently, however, certain social commerce platforms do seem to be ahead of the rest, offering a more streamlined checkout process and giving your business access to a number of essential tools. 

We take a look at three of the primary social commerce platforms that are leading the industry at the moment.
<h3>1. Instagram</h3>
While a newer entry in the world of social media platforms, Instagram has grown a lot in just a decade. The platform was initially developed to help people share videos and photos, but quickly became a focal point for many businesses. Today, consumers, influencers, and even some of the biggest brands in the world all take advantage of Instagram. 

<div id="attachment_10283" align="alignnone" width="795"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10283 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/08/socialC5.jpg" alt="women making inventory of ecommerce products " width="795" height="1280" /> Instagram shopping feature</div>

In addition to being a social media platform, Instagram has also become one of the best options for social commerce strategies. The platform only recently introduced its own social commerce functions, but several businesses have already created their own storefront on Instagram. 

Due to the fact that Instagram focuses largely on visuals, the platform is ideal for creative businesses. It is easy to add products to posts. These serve as “shoppable posts”. You can do the same with <a href="https://www.exoticzambia.com/tinder-zambia-dating-call-girls-and-hookups/"> Zambia dating sites</a> stories and reel entries on the platform. Your business can choose to allow checkout directly on Instagram. Alternatively, redirect the customer to your eCommerce platform.
<h3>2. Facebook</h3>
Facebook still remains the biggest social media platform in existence. There are<a href="https://www.oberlo.com/blog/facebook-statistics" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> over 2.8 billion people</a> who use Facebook on at least one occasion every month. The average user spends around 19.5 hours on Facebook each month. This platform was also one of the first to introduce a social commerce system, called Facebook Shops. 

There are different options when setting up a social commerce storefront on Facebook. In some cases, the eCommerce system used by a business may be compatible with the partner <a href="https://www.exoticzambia.com/zambia-pussy-girls-zambia-pussy-pics-and-nudes/"> Zambian porn pics </a> platform on Facebook Shops. This helps to automate the process of uploading products to a Facebook store. Direct selling on Facebook Shops is possible - including checkout. 
<h3>3. Pinterest </h3>
Pinterest is slowly increasing functions related to commerce tools, but there are some <a href="https://www.exoticzambia.com/zambia-pussy-girls-zambia-pussy-pics-and-nudes/"> Zambia Pussy</a> limitations at the moment. The platform does not yet provide support for direct selling and checkout on the platform. It can, however, still be very useful for businesses that want to expand their social commerce strategy. When using Pinterest’s commerce tools, additional fields for pricing and specifications are added to the pin. When a visitor clicks the link to buy, however, then you direct them to a landing page. The redirect can take the client to your eCommerce website too.

Conclusion

Ecommerce no longer only holds ties to platforms like Woo-commerce or Shopify. In the modern-day, businesses need to ensure they adopt the latest trends - and this includes the utilization of social commerce strategies. Social commerce allows a business to expand the number of people reached, while also increasing sales. These are a few ways social commerce benefits your business. 

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How To Use Social Commerce For Your Business?

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Learn the less explored opportunities and benefits of 5G presents to small business owners will enjoy when 5G becomes mainstream.

Benefits of 5G For Small Business Owners - RateUsOnline

If you want to learn the opportunities and benefits of 5G presents to small business owners, you’re in the right place.

The advent of 5G connectivity is just over the horizon. It’s not a rumour anymore, and leading network providers are gearing up to deploy their offerings.

You probably know about the perks this next-generation network presents to end consumers. But what about businesses? What will business owners gain from this new generation of wireless technology?

If you’re a small business owner, you must learn about the potential of 5G to future-proof your systems and stay ahead of the curve.

To help you, we’ve provided you with a list of benefits small business owners will enjoy when 5G becomes mainstream.
<h2>What is 5G?</h2>
5G connectivity is the fifth generation of wireless mobile network technology. It’s the upgrade of the 4G network designed to connect everyone and everything.

The technology brings three new things to the table: speed (wider channels), responsiveness (ultra-lower latency), and more bandwidth (ability to boost connectivity between devices). 5G’s high performance and improved efficiency can transform companies, connect new industries, and empower new user experiences.

<div id="attachment_10270" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10270 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/08/5g2.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1185" /> Mobile phone, a smartphone with 5G wireless high-speed internet in hands of man.</div>

Services that seemed futuristic like advance mobile cloud gaming, connected vehicles and traffic systems, and e-health are all now possible.

According to the latest Ericsson Mobility Report, the number of 5G smartphone subscriptions worldwide will blow past 500 million years this year and past one billion in 2022. This next-generation network opens the door to new opportunities for business, people, and society.
<h2>What Are The Key Benefits of 5G</h2>
Before we can dive into the benefits of 5G to small businesses, let’s learn about key features of this next-generation network.
<h3>1. Higher Speeds</h3>
5G’s speed is perhaps the most discussed feature. It features a data speed of up to 10 Gbps, representing over 100x improvement over the current 4G LTE technology. This increased speed means new exciting possibilities for consumers. You can now download a movie that usually takes several minutes in just a few seconds.
<h3>2. Lower Latency</h3>
One thing new networks try to address is latency. Latency is the time a signal takes to travel from the source to the receiver and back. 5G networks come with reduced latency than 4G LTE, with signal travel time cut down to less than five milliseconds. Lower latency is critical for modern business operations. This is true, considering the rise in the conference and video calls amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
<h3>3. Reliability</h3>
Advancement in 5G technology makes the network more reliable than its predecessors. As such, issues like interrupted connectivity and dropped calls will decrease significantly. This increases the practicality of 5G in critical businesses like data storage and healthcare.
<h2>Industries That Can Benefit from 5G</h2>
The transformative power of 5G extends to several industries, including:
<h3>1. Healthcare</h3>
5G networks represent a new frontier for healthcare. Edge computing combined with 5G’s high speed and low latency can boost the utilization of AI and big analytic to stream health data in real-time. Also, it can pave way for remote surgery, which relies on high-quality, media-rich diagnostic images.
<h3>2. Media and Entertainment</h3>
Broadband made moving movies, games, and TV to the cloud possible. But 5G takes this a notch higher. It allows consumers to bring a richer media experience to their screen anywhere, anytime. You can enjoy streaming 4K videos and immersive VR on devices connected to a 5G network. This introduces new opportunities for communication services providers, cloud services providers, and even content creators to make more money.
<h3>3. Transport</h3>
In the transport sector, introducing 5G can allow the collection of real-time data and analysis through car sensors. Alternatively, it can make businesses, stock management, logistics, and fleet control more efficient and cost-effective. The next step is the introduction of driverless cars that can take users to different destinations quickly and safely.
<h3>4. Agriculture</h3>
With the help of 5G and IoT technology, farmers can optimize and manage various agriculture operations, including crop growth monitoring, livestock health management, and water management. Farmers can use these technologies to gain real-time data on crop conditions and automate other agriculture operations. Therefore, increasing efficiency and profitability.
<h5>READ ALSO: <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/could-vertical-farms-bring-about-a-new-stage-of-urban-agriculture/">COULD VERTICAL FARMS BRING ABOUT A NEW STAGE OF URBAN AGRICULTURE</a></h5>
<h2>How Small Business Will Benefit from 5G</h2>
<h3>1. Remote Working</h3>
Today, most small businesses have adopted the concept of remote working since it presents them with several benefits such as increased agility, lower turnover, and improved scheduling. However, constant access to high-quality, reliable, and fast internet connections will improve these benefits even further.

5G connectivity will allow small business workers to gain greater access to remote working software. As a result, they can communicate and collaborate with co-workers easily and work more effectively.

But that’s not all! Tasks conducted on the network like file sharing on the cloud and online sales will become faster and hassle-free. Besides that, this connectivity provides businesses with the ability to adopt Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) during remote meetings to make staff members feel like they’re in the same room.

Overall, this seamless connectivity improves the integration and productivity of business while reducing overhead expenses usually linked with working in a traditional office.
<h3>2. Increase IoT Capabilities</h3>
5G networks offer up to 1000x more capacity than 4G. Thus, it creates a fertile ground for Internet of Things (IoT) development. Combined with IOT, 5G will revolutionize how wireless networks work.

Small businesses will gain more control over IoT devices, including printers, inventory control tools, shipping trackers, etc. And since many small business owners already have IoT devices in their offices, this seamless network will exponentially boost connectivity and speed between these devices. As a result, businesses can effectively harness the power of the Internet of Things.

In the end, small businesses can save on big utilities, create more efficient supply networks, and automate supply chain management processes.
<h3>3. Rural Innovation</h3>
Many countries around the globe, including the UK, US, and China, are seeking to take advantage of 5G technology to improve connectivity in rural areas. Therefore, offering people more opportunities to start, operate and grow businesses in rural locations.

For small businesses, this means they will reduce expenses and introduce new products to the market by working with local suppliers to deliver greater convenience, independence, and selections for buyers.
<h3>4. Makes Workers More Productive</h3>
Besides introducing new ways to work, 5G makes advancing small businesses easier. With its help, devices used at work can attain powerful, low-latency connections to the cloud, thus reducing their computing tasks. Hence, workers can use these devices like screens and batteries with increased bandwidth connectivity to the cloud.

Business owners can provide their employees with low-powered devices that run complex analytics to deliver premium services or utilize VR/AR to streamline workplace management and operations.

<div id="attachment_10271" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10271 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/08/5g4.jpg" alt="girl using 5g data on her mobile " width="2000" height="1333" /> Working on the go.</div>

Lower latency and higher speeds will make conference connections more seamlessly than ever before. 5G will allow employees to make high-quality video calls on the go. These improvements will increase the productivity of business owners and employees significantly.
<h3>5. Network Slicing</h3>
5G’s network slicing ability allows operators to split a single physical network into two or more virtual networks. They can then customize these networks to distinct customer segments and services. Network slicing allows small businesses to create their private 5G network tailored to meet the specific needs of the business.

Apart from that, business owners can order and receive products and services from operators faster. They can adapt the products and services as demand shifts and evolves. Network slicing also provides SMEs with cybersecurity benefits. If one network gets compromised, the other networks will remain safe.

Ultimately, network slicing promotes a better user experience for businesses.
<h3>6. Cost Saving</h3>
5G connectivity can extend the battery life of laptops and other devices used in a workplace by up to 10x. Therefore, small businesses will see a reduction in the cost of hardware and IT infrastructure required.

<div id="attachment_10272" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10272 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/08/5g3.jpg" alt="analysing cost saving with 5g data " width="2000" height="1333" /> mobile phone in his small business home office</div>

The network signals shift from a hardware-based economy to a software-based economy. This shift will relieve businesses of IT maintenance and monitoring expenses.

Savings from reduced administration costs and other processes can filter throughout the company, and in the end, improve the bottom line.
<h3>7. Creates New Business Opportunities</h3>
It’s no secret! New technology often drives new ideas. 5G introduces small businesses to a new world of endless possibilities and opportunities that can help them create and offer new products and services.

5G offers you the ability to collect more data about customers and competitors and put it to work, so you can improve your business.

The network marks the first step in the transformation of the business model for many owners.
<h3>8. Bridging The Skills Gap</h3>
5G can improve the recruitment process of small businesses by assisting owners to recruit top talent who can take the enterprise to a new level. It achieves that through its advances in remote and video technology.

The network eliminates traditional recruitment barriers, helping companies spot and recruit the best candidates for the job.

Bottom Line

With each deployment of new wireless technology, end-users usually enjoy many benefits. However, this time, businesses are the biggest winners. 5G networks will completely revolutionize how small businesses work and run via reduced latency, high speed, and increased flexibility.

Its reliability can help businesses meet the needs of their consumers and become more resilient, productive, and competitive. Leveraging the power and benefits of 5G connectivity is the best way for enterprises- irrespective of the industry- to stay future-proof.

Benefits of 5G For Small Business Owners

Discover the most effective marketing strategy for small businesses in the UK. Learn how to attract more customers, boost brand visibility, and grow your business with smart, budget-friendly tactics.

Most Effective Marketing Strategy for UK Small Businesses in 2025

In today’s digital-first economy, small businesses in the UK face both unprecedented challenges and powerful opportunities. With limited budgets and fierce competition, the effectiveness of a marketing strategy can make or break a small enterprise. But among the myriad tactics available, social media, email, content marketing, SEO, local advertising, and more, what truly is the most effective marketing strategy for small businesses in the UK?
Short Answer: A Hyper-Local, Multi-Channel Digital Strategy Focused on Relationship Building.
Now, let’s explore why this works and how to build it.
<h2>1. Understanding the UK Small Business Landscape</h2>
The UK is home to over 5.5 million small businesses, accounting for more than 99% of all businesses in the country. These include everything from local coffee shops to online boutiques and freelance consultancies. What unites them is their need to stand out in saturated markets with modest resources.
In such an environment, blanket advertising doesn’t cut it. Small businesses must instead leverage strategies that are personal, cost-effective, and community-focused.
<h2>2. The Foundation: Know Your Audience</h2>

<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/05/111111.png" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

Before you spend a single pound on marketing, understanding your target audience is essential. Effective strategies start with customer personas:
•	Who are your customers?
•	What do they value?
•	Where do they spend time, online and offline?
•	What problems are you solving for them?
For example, a vegan bakery in Bristol may find its best audience on Instagram and at local events, while a B2B IT consultancy in Leeds might benefit more from LinkedIn and SEO-optimised content.
<h3>3. Core Strategy: Localised Digital Marketing</h3>
This combines digital tools with hyper-local targeting, making it ideal for small UK businesses. Here\\\\'s how the core components come together:
<h5><ins>A- Local SEO: Be Found When It Matters</ins></h5>
<a href="https://sailphones.com/navigating-the-changing-seo-landscape-strategies-for-search-engine-success/" target="_blank">Google is the front door of the internet</a>. When someone types “best barber in Bir mingham” or “plumber near me,” they’re looking to buy—now.
To rank for these searches, your business must:
•	Create and optimise a Google Business Profile.
•	Gather positive reviews from local customers.
•	Ensure your NAP (Name, Address, Phone) information is consistent across directories.
•	Use location-specific keywords on your website (e.g., “Cambridge dog groomer”).
Local SEO is often free or low-cost and delivers high-intent traffic.
<h5><ins>B- Social Media with a Local Focus</ins></h5>
Social platforms offer a powerful, low-cost way to connect with your audience.
•	For retail and food businesses, Instagram and TikTok work well for showcasing products and building brand culture.
•	For professional services, Facebook and LinkedIn are great for sharing tips, case studies, and testimonials.
Importantly, social media for small UK businesses should include local flavour:
•	Feature local landmarks.
•	Support nearby businesses or events.
•	Use regional hashtags (e.g., #ManchesterEats or #ShopLocalUK).
This makes your brand relatable and community-focused—traits consumers increasingly value.
<h5><ins>C- Email Marketing: Your Digital Loyalty Card</ins></h5>


<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/05/em11.png" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

Email remains one of the highest ROI marketing tools. Build a list early, even if small. Offer an incentive like a discount or free guide to encourage sign-ups.
Then, send regular newsletters with:
•	Updates
•	Offers
•	Customer stories
•	Helpful tips
For example, a fitness coach in Brighton might send weekly workout tips and success stories. It builds trust and keeps your business top of mind—without the algorithm getting in the way.
<h5><ins>D- Content Marketing: Educate and Elevate</ins></h5>
Blogging, video content, and downloadable guides establish authority and help with SEO. This is particularly powerful for service-based businesses.
Examples:
•	An accountant in Edinburgh might write blogs like “Top 5 Tax Deductions for Small Businesses in Scotland.”
•	A dog trainer in Newcastle could post YouTube videos on behaviour tips.
Over time, this content becomes a magnet for search traffic and referrals.
<h2>4. The Importance of Relationships and Reputation</h2>
Word of mouth remains a cornerstone for small UK businesses. A solid reputation in your community goes further than any ad campaign.
Ways to foster relationships:
•	<a href="https://startupmodelhub.com/blogs/opening/shooting-range" target="_blank">Join local business networks or chambers of commerce</a> .
•	Attend or sponsor community events.
•	Offer referral discounts to happy customers.
•	Regularly ask for online reviews (and reply to them politely).
People buy from businesses they trust—and trust is built locally, consistently.
<h2>5. Use Data to Refine Strategy</h2>

<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/05/dataa11.png" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

It’s not enough to just do marketing. You need to track what’s working.
Key metrics:
•	Website traffic and sources (Google Analytics)
•	Email open and click-through rates
•	Social media engagement
•	Conversion rates (leads/sales)
Refining your marketing based on real data ensures you\\\\'re not wasting time or money.
<h2>6. Budget-Friendly Tools for UK Small Businesses</h2>
Even with limited budgets, there are plenty of free or low-cost marketing tools:
•	Canva: Create branded graphics and social posts
•	MailerLite / Mailchimp: Email automation
•	Google Business Profile: Local SEO boost
•	<a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/how-business-listing-sites-help-you-rank-higher-on-google" target="_blank">RateUsOnline Profile : Business listing site, to showcase your reviews and SEO boost </a>&nbsp;
•	Buffer / Later: Social media scheduling
•	Ubersuggest: Keyword research for SEO
Combined, these can give you a professional marketing presence without the agency price tag.
<h2>7. Real-World Example: A London Florist’s Success</h2>
Consider Bloom &amp; Petal, a small florist in East London. They started with an Instagram page showcasing beautiful floral arrangements and ran monthly giveaways for local followers. Their Google Business Profile was regularly updated with reviews and photos. They blogged about wedding trends and seasonal flowers.
Within 12 months:
•	Website traffic tripled
•	They were ranking in the top 3 for “wedding flowers East London”
•	Instagram generated consistent DMs and orders
•	Email subscribers grew to over 1,500, with an open rate above 40%
They didn’t spend thousands, they just focused on being visible, local, and authentic.
<h3>Conclusion: The Strategy That Works</h3>
There’s no one-size-fits-all, but the most effective marketing strategy for small UK businesses blends local SEO, social media, email marketing, and reputation-building—anchored by a deep understanding of your audience.
This approach doesn’t require massive budgets. It requires consistency, creativity, and a willingness to engage with your community both online and off.
In short, the best marketing strategy is one that makes your small business feel big in the hearts of your local customers.&nbsp;

What Is the Most Effective Marketing Strategy for Small Businesses in the UK?

Discover how business listing sites can boost your local SEO, improve Google rankings, and increase your online visibility. Learn the key benefits and optimization tips.

How Business Listing Sites Improve Google Rankings | Boost Local SEO

In today’s digital world, it’s no longer enough to simply have a <a href="https://www.13pixel.com.au/why-having-a-responsive-website-is-crucial-for-success/" target="_blank">website</a> . If you want your business to appear in front of potential customers—especially those searching locally—you need to maximize your online presence. One of the most effective (and often overlooked) ways to do this is by leveraging business listing sites.
Whether you\'re a small business owner or a marketing professional, understanding how business listing sites help you rank higher on Google can give you the edge over your competition. Let’s dive into how this works, why it matters, and what you can do to get started.
<h2>What Are Business Listing Sites?</h2>
Business listing sites are online directories where businesses can submit information such as name, address, phone number, website, hours of operation, services offered, and more. Popular examples include:
- Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business)
- Yelp
- Bing Places
- Yellow Pages
- Foursquare
- Better Business Bureau (BBB)
- Local.com
- <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/" target="_blank">RateUsOnline.com</a>&nbsp;
- Facebook Business Pages
These platforms are often the first place customers look when searching for local services—and they play a major role in how Google ranks businesses in local search results.
<h2>1. They Improve Local SEO Signals</h2>
Local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is all about increasing your visibility in local search results. When someone types “coffee shop near me” or “plumber in Chicago,” Google tries to show the most relevant businesses based on location and other factors.


<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/04/sear.png" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

How listing sites help: Search engines pull local business data from multiple sources to determine a business’s trustworthiness and relevance. If your business info is consistent and accurate across several reputable directories, Google is more likely to trust that information and rank your business higher in local results.
<h2>2. They Create Quality Backlinks</h2>
Backlinks—links from other websites that point to your site—are a key part of Google’s ranking algorithm. High-authority backlinks tell Google that your website is credible and relevant.
How listing sites help: Many business directories allow you to include a link to your website. These are typically considered high-authority backlinks, especially from trusted directories like Yelp, BBB, or industry-specific platforms. Even if they’re “nofollow” links, they still contribute to your domain’s overall authority and visibility.
<h2>3. They Increase Online Visibility and Reach</h2>
The more places your business is listed, <a href="https://vervology.com/insights/listing-management-for-small-businesses/" target="_blank">the more opportunities customers have to find you.</a>&nbsp;


<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/04/dataaa.png" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

How listing sites help: Most directories rank well in search engine results themselves. If your business is listed on them, you might show up in search results even if your own website doesn’t. It’s like casting a wider net across the internet to reel in more customers.
Plus, many directories have built-in search functions. Users searching within those platforms can find your business based on category, keywords, or location—giving you another channel to be discovered.
<h2>4. They Strengthen NAP Consistency</h2>
NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone Number. Keeping this information consistent across all your listings is critical.
How listing sites help: Google looks at your NAP info across the web to validate your business’s legitimacy. If your listings have discrepancies—like different addresses or outdated phone numbers—it can confuse search engines and hurt your rankings.
Listing sites give you control over how your business appears online, making it easier to maintain NAP consistency across the board.
<h2>5. They Collect Reviews and Ratings</h2>
Online reviews are a powerful ranking factor for<a href="https://seoislocal.com/how-to-leverage-local-seo-strategies-to-boost-your-small-business-visibility/" target="_blank"> local SEO</a>. They inf luence both how search engines rank your business and how potential customers perceive it.


<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/04/reve.png" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

How listing sites help: Sites like Google Business Profile, Yelp, <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/" target="_blank">RateUsOnline.com</a> and Facebook allow users to leave reviews. The more positive, recent reviews you have, the better. Google favors businesses with high ratings and consistent review activity—this helps you move up in the local pack (those top 3 listings that appear in map searches).
Pro tip: Respond to reviews! It shows Google and your customers that you\'re engaged, responsive, and trustworthy.
<h2>6. They Provide Structured Data for Search Engines</h2>
Search engines like data that\'s easy to read and understand. Business listings use structured formats (like schema markup) that help Google parse your information more efficiently.
How listing sites help: When you fill out a business profile with detailed info like: business hours, services offered, or accepted payment methods—it helps search engines categorize your business more accurately, which can improve your visibility in specific types of searches.
<h2>7. They Help Build Trust and Credibility</h2>
Customers are more likely to trust a business that appears across multiple reputable sites with consistent branding and accurate info.


<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/04/hpp.png" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

How listing sites help: Being listed on well-known directories signals professionalism. It also adds transparency, especially when customers see real reviews, updated hours, and active social profiles linked from your listing.
That trust factor often leads to more clicks, calls, and conversions—which in turn signals to Google that your business is popular and valuable.
<h2>How to Optimize Your Listings for SEO</h2>
Getting listed is just the first step. Here are a few tips to maximize your results:
Complete every profile 100%. Include logos, photos, hours, website link, and a detailed business description with relevant keywords.
Keep information consistent. Double-check your NAP across all platforms.
Encourage reviews. Ask happy customers to leave feedback, and always respond professionally.
Update regularly. If your hours or services change, reflect that immediately in your listings.
Use category tags wisely. Choose the most relevant categories to help users and search engines understand what you offer.
<h2>Final Thoughts</h2>
Business listing sites are more than just digital phone books, they’re powerful tools that can supercharge your local SEO and help you rank higher on Google. They create backlinks, build trust, collect reviews, and enhance your visibility across the web.
If you haven’t already claimed and optimized your listings, now’s the time. With just a bit of effort, you can dramatically improve your chances of being found by the people who matter most your future customers.&nbsp;

How Business Listing Sites Help You Rank Higher on Google

Learn how to improve your website\'s SEO to attract more customers with practical tips on keywords, content, mobile optimization, backlinks, and more. Boost traffic and grow your business in 2025!

Boost Website SEO & Attract More Customers in 2025

In today’s digital world, your website is more than just a business card it\'s your 24/7 salesperson. But what happens when that salesperson is stuck in a dark alley of the internet with no traffic? That’s where SEO (Search Engine Optimization) steps in, shining a spotlight on your site so potential customers can find it. If you\'re wondering how to improve your website’s SEO to bring in more customers, you’re in the right place.
Here’s a practical, no-fluff guide to help you get found, get clicked, and get more conversions.
<h3>1. Start with Keyword Research</h3>
The foundation of SEO is understanding what your customers are searching for. You might be selling “handcrafted soy candles,” but your audience might be typing in “natural scented candles” or “eco-friendly home fragrance.”
<h4 style="text-align:start;">Action Steps:</h4>
- Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, or Ahrefs. &nbsp;

<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/04/ub.png" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

- Focus on long-tail keywords (e.g., “best soy candles for relaxation”)—they’re less competitive and more specific.
- Spy on your competitors. What keywords are they ranking for?
Once you have a list, integrate them naturally into your content, URLs, meta tags, and headers.
<h3>2. Optimize On-Page Elements</h3>
On-page SEO refers to optimizing parts of your website you have direct control over.
<h4>Key Areas to Focus On:</h4>
- <a href="https://ecsion.com/blogs/how-to-rank-a-website-fast/" target="_blank">Title Tags:</a> Include yo ur primary keyword and keep it under 60 characters.
- Meta Descriptions: Entice users with a clear and engaging summary (under 160 characters).
- Headers (H1, H2, H3): Use these to structure your content and sprinkle in keywords.
- Image Alt Text: Describe images clearly for accessibility and SEO.
- Internal Linking: Link to other relevant pages on your site to keep users engaged.
Each page on your site should have a specific keyword focus, avoiding duplication across pages.
<h3>3. Create Quality, Useful Content</h3>
Google loves fresh, original, and helpful content. So do your customers. Whether it\'s blog posts, product descriptions, or FAQ pages, every word on your site should answer a question or solve a problem.
<h4>Tips:</h4>
- Focus on E-E-A-T: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness.
- Use a mix of formats, how-to guides, videos, infographics.
- Keep your blog updated regularly.
- Address customer pain points and industry trends.
A good content strategy not only boosts SEO but positions you as a thought leader in your niche.
<h3>4. Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly</h3>
<a href="https://app.uxcel.com/lessons/anatomy-350/search-on-mobile-8379" target="_blank">More than half of all web traffic comes from mobile devices.</a> If your website isn’t optimized for mobile, you’re missing out on customers and tanking your SEO.


<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/04/mb.png" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

<h4>What to Do:</h4>
- Use responsive design (your website adapts to screen size).
- Keep buttons large enough to tap.
- Test your site using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool.
- Minimize pop-ups and make navigation intuitive.
- Mobile-first indexing means Google often looks at the mobile version of your site before the desktop version.
<h3>5. Improve Site Speed</h3>
A slow site frustrates visitors and sends them straight to your competitors. Google uses page speed as a ranking factor.
<h4>Boost Your Site’s Speed By:</h4>
1- Compressing images.
2- Using browser caching.
3- Minimizing CSS and JavaScript files.
4- Leveraging a Content Delivery Network (CDN).
5- Choosing a reliable hosting provider.
You can test your speed using tools like <a href="https://pagespeed.web.dev/" target="_blank">Google PageSpeed</a> Insights or GTm etrix.


<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/04/pg.png" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

<h3>6. Earn High-Quality Backlinks</h3>
Backlinks are like digital votes of confidence. When authoritative sites link to your content, it tells search engines your content is trustworthy.
<h4>Ways to Get Backlinks:</h4>
- Guest post on relevant industry blogs.
- Create shareable infographics and tools.
- Build relationships with influencers and journalists.
- Claim unlinked mentions of your brand.
- List your business on reputable directories.
Avoid spammy link schemes, they can do more harm than good.
<h3>7. Use Local SEO to Attract Nearby Customers</h3>
If you have a physical location or serve specific areas, local SEO is crucial.
<h4>Optimize for Local SEO:</h4>
- Set up and verify your <a href="https://business.google.com/uk/business-profile/" target="_blank">Google Business Profile.</a>&nbsp;
- Use local keywords (e.g., “vegan bakery in Austin”).
- Encourage happy customers to leave Google reviews.
- Make sure your <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-google-my-business-services-essential-local-visibility-pdmllc-zd6be/" target="_blank">name, address, and phone number (NAP)</a> are consistent across all platforms.
- Get listed in local directories like Yelp, TripAdvisor, or local chambers of commerce.
- Local SEO can drive foot traffic and improve visibility for searches like “near me.”
<h3>8. Use Structured Data Markup</h3>
<a href="https://www.ytbhai.com/blog/the-role-of-schema-markup-in-modern-seo/" target="_blank">Structured data (schema markup)</a> helps search engines understand your content. It also enhances your listings with rich snippets like star ratings, prices, FAQs, and more.
<h4>Common Uses:</h4>
- Product pages, Reviews, Recipes, Events, FAQs, Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper is a good place to start if you’re not familiar with it.
<h3>9. Monitor, Test, and Improve</h3>
SEO isn’t a “set it and forget it” strategy. It’s a long game, and results take time—but the benefits compound.
<h4>Use These Tools to Track Progress:</h4>

<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/04/gsc.png" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

- Google Search Console: See how you’re ranking and spot technical issues.
- Google Analytics: Monitor traffic, user behavior, and conversions.
- Heatmaps (like Hotjar): Understand how users interact with your pages.
- A/B Testing Tools: Test different headlines, CTAs, or layouts to optimize performance.
Review your site regularly and tweak your strategy based on real data.
<h3>Final Thoughts: Think Like Your Customer</h3>
SEO isn’t about tricking Google. It’s about helping people find what they need. When you shift your mindset from “How do I rank higher?” to “How do I better serve my audience?”, that’s when real growth begins.
Start small. Optimize one page. Write one killer blog post. Earn one good backlink. Over time, these small wins add up to big results.
And remember—SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. Stay consistent, stay curious, and keep learning.
Need a hand with your SEO strategy? Whether you’re starting from scratch or looking to level up, a tailored plan can make all the difference. Reach out or leave a comment below, and let’s talk about how to turn your website into a customer magnet.&nbsp;

How to Improve Your Website’s SEO to Attract More Customers

Discover the ideal social media posting frequency for new businesses. Learn how often to post on each platform to maximize engagement and grow your audience.

How Often Should New Businesses Post on Social Media?

Social media is an essential tool for businesses, influencers, and content creators looking to grow their audience and engage with their followers. However, one of the most common questions people ask is: how often should I post on social media? The answer depends on several factors, including the platform, your audience, and your content strategy. This blog will break down the ideal posting frequency for different social media platforms and provide tips on maintaining consistency without overwhelming your audience.

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Understanding the Importance of Posting Frequency
Before diving into specific recommendations, it\\\'s important to understand why posting frequency matters. The right posting schedule helps:
- Increase Engagement: More frequent posts give followers more opportunities to interact with your content.
- Maintain Visibility: Social media algorithms prioritize active accounts, ensuring your content gets seen.
- Establish Brand Authority: Consistently sharing high-quality content builds credibility and trust with your audience.
- Drive Traffic: More posts mean more chances to direct users to your website, products, or services.
<h4>Recommended Posting Frequency for each Platform</h4>
<h3>1. Facebook</h3>
Ideal Frequency: 1-2 times per day
Facebook’s algorithm favours high-quality content that engages users. Posting once or twice a day is optimal for keeping your audience engaged without overwhelming them.
•	Best Times to Post: Between 9 AM – 3 PM, especially on weekdays.
•	Content Suggestions: Blog posts, videos, live streams, customer testimonials, and industry news.

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<h3>2. Instagram</h3>
Ideal Frequency: 3-7 times per week
Instagram rewards consistency, but quality matters more than quantity. Posting at least three times a week ensures your brand stays relevant, while daily posting can maximize engagement.
- Best Times to Post: 11 AM – 2 PM or evening hours (7 PM – 9 PM).
- Content Suggestions: High-quality images, reels, carousels, stories, and IGTV videos.
- Stories Frequency: Aim for 3-5 stories per day to maintain engagement.
<h3>3. Twitter (X)</h3>
Ideal Frequency: 3-5 times per day
Twitter is a fast-paced platform where frequent posting is encouraged. Sharing multiple times a day increases visibility and interaction.
- Best Times to Post: 8 AM – 10 AM, 12 PM – 3 PM, and 5 PM – 7 PM.
- Content Suggestions: Industry news, updates, memes, polls, Q&amp;A, retweets, and customer interactions.
<h3>4. LinkedIn</h3>
Ideal Frequency: 3-5 times per week
LinkedIn is a professional networking platform, and posting daily isn’t necessary. A few high-quality posts per week are enough to engage your audience.
- Best Times to Post: Tuesday – Thursday, 7 AM – 10 AM or lunchtime hours.
- Content Suggestions: Thought leadership articles, company updates, career advice, and industry news.

<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/03/getty-images-Uu4kfMSXzjA-unsplash.jpg" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

Also Read: <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/what-are-the-15-best-ways-to-advertise-my-uk-business-on-a-small-budget-in-2025" target="_blank">What Are the 15 Best Ways to Advertise My UK Business on a Small Budget in 2025?</a> 
<h3>5. TikTok</h3>
Ideal Frequency: 1-3 times per day
TikTok’s algorithm prioritizes fresh and engaging content, so posting frequently can help you grow faster.
- Best Times to Post: 6 AM – 9 AM, 12 PM – 3 PM, and 6 PM – 10 PM.
- Content Suggestions: Short-form videos, trends, challenges, and educational content.

<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/03/getty-images-M8j_mXNTdxI-unsplash.jpg" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

<h3>6. Pinterest</h3>
Ideal Frequency: 5-15 times per day
Pinterest is a search engine-based platform were frequent pinning increases visibility. Spacing out pins throughout the day improves engagement.
- Best Times to Post: Evening hours, especially between 8 PM – 11 PM.
- Content Suggestions: Infographics, DIY tutorials, product showcases, and blog posts.
<h3>7. YouTube</h3>
Ideal Frequency: 1-3 times per week
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@rateusonline2414" target="_blank">YouTube </a> focuses on long-form video content, making quality more important than frequency. Posting weekly ensures audience retention and steady growth.
- Best Times to Post: Thursday – Sunday, 5 PM – 9 PM.
- Content Suggestions: Tutorials, vlogs, interviews, and behind-the-scenes content.

<h3>8. Snapchat</h3>
Ideal Frequency: 5-20 times per day (for stories)
Snapchat thrives on frequent content updates, particularly for brands and influencers looking to stay top of mind.
- Best Times to Post: Throughout the day, especially in the evening.
- Content Suggestions: Behind-the-scenes footage, promotions, and interactive stories.

<h3>Tips for Maintaining Consistency</h3>
1. Create a Content Calendar: Plan your posts in advance to ensure consistency across all platforms.
2. Use Scheduling Tools: Tools like Buffer, Hootsuite, and Later can automate your posts, saving time and effort.
3. Engage With Your Audience: Responding to comments and messages increases engagement and builds a loyal community.
4. Monitor Analytics: Track performance metrics to determine the best posting times and adjust your strategy accordingly.
5. Repurpose Content: Modify one piece of content to fit multiple platforms, reducing the need for constant content creation.
6. Balance Quality and Quantity: Prioritize valuable, well-crafted content over frequent but low-quality posts.
<h4>Adjusting Your Strategy Over Time</h4>
The ideal posting frequency isn’t set in stone. Factors like audience behaviour, industry trends, and platform updates can impact what works best. Regularly analyse your performance data to optimize your posting schedule. If engagement drops, experiment with different posting frequencies until you find the sweet spot.
<h4>Final Thoughts</h4>
There’s no universal rule for how often you should post on social media, but understanding platform-specific best practices can help you create an effective strategy. The key is to find a balance between staying active and maintaining high-quality content. By posting consistently and engaging with your audience, you can build a strong social media presence that drives growth and enhances your brand.

How Often Should New Businesses Post on Social Media Platforms?

Learn how to handle unhappy customers and respond to negative feedback effectively. Discover proven strategies to turn complaints into opportunities and improve customer satisfaction.

"How to Handle Unhappy Customers & Negative Feedback Like a Pro"

In business, no matter how exceptional your products or services are, you will inevitably encounter unhappy customers or negative feedback. Instead of seeing these situations as setbacks, view them as opportunities to learn, improve, and strengthen your customer relationships. Effectively handling negative feedback can turn dissatisfied customers into loyal brand advocates and demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction. 

<h3>Understanding the Importance of Handling Negative Feedback </h3>
Negative feedback can feel personal and disheartening, but it plays a crucial role in the growth of any business. Addressing concerns proactively helps: 
- Improve customer retention.
- Build brand reputation and trust. 
- Identify gaps in service or product quality.
- Create better customer experiences 
Ignoring or mishandling customer complaints can lead to further dissatisfaction, negative word-of-mouth, and a potential decline in sales. Therefore, it’s essential to develop a strategy for addressing customer concerns constructively. 
<h3>Steps to Handling Unhappy Customers and Negative Feedback </h3>

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<h4>1. Stay Calm and Listen Attentively </h4>
When faced with an unhappy customer, the first step is to remain calm. Emotional responses can escalate situations unnecessarily. Instead, practice active listening: 
- Let the customer express their frustration without interruption. 
- Show empathy by acknowledging their feelings. 
- Avoid defensive language and remain professional. 
Active listening demonstrates that you genuinely care about their experience, which can help de-escalate tension and create a foundation for resolution. 
<h3>2. Acknowledge the Issue and Apologize </h3>
Customers want to feel heard and valued. A sincere apology can go a long way in diffusing negative emotions. However, ensure that your apology is meaningful and not generic. For example: 
- Instead of saying, “Sorry for the inconvenience,” try “I’m truly sorry for the frustration this has caused you. We appreciate your feedback and want to make things right.” 
- If the issue is systemic, acknowledge it and assure them of corrective actions. 
<h3>3. Gather Relevant Information </h3>
Before jumping to solutions, understand the problem fully: 
- Ask questions to clarify details.
- Review past interactions, purchase history, or service records. 
- Identify whether it’s a common issue or a one-off occurrence. 
Having all the necessary information helps provide an accurate resolution and prevents further miscommunication. 
<h3>4. Offer a Solution or Compensation </h3>
Once you understand the problem, propose a solution that aligns with the customer’s needs. This could include: 
- A refund, exchange, or replacement 
- A discount or promotional offer 
- Additional support or guidance 
- A simple reassurance that improvements are being made 
Be transparent about what you can and cannot do. If a particular request isn’t feasible, offer alternative solutions that may still satisfy the customer. 
<h3>5. Follow Up and Ensure Resolution </h3>
Following up shows customers that you genuinely care about their satisfaction. After resolving the issue: 
- Check in with the customer to ensure they are happy with the resolution. 
- Ask if they have any additional concerns or questions. 
- Thank them for their patience and for bringing the issue to your attention. 
Following up can turn a negative experience into a positive one, strengthening customer loyalty. 
<h3>Managing Negative Online Reviews and Social Media Feedback </h3>
Negative feedback isn’t limited to direct customer interactions, it often appears in online reviews, social media, and public forums. Here’s how to handle it: 
<h5>Respond Quickly and Professionally </h5>
Timely responses show that you take customer concerns seriously. Acknowledge the issue, apologize if necessary, and offer to resolve the situation offline (via direct message or email). For example: 
“We’re sorry to hear about your experience. We’d love the opportunity to make it right. Please send us a direct message so we can assist you further.” 
<h5>Address Legitimate Concerns </h5>
Some negative reviews are constructive and highlight genuine areas for improvement. Take them as valuable insights and address the issues accordingly. 
For instance, if multiple customers complain about slow service, acknowledge the feedback and explain the steps being taken to improve efficiency. 
<h5>Avoid Public Arguments </h5>
Engaging in arguments or defensive responses can damage your brand’s reputation. Even if the complaint is unjustified, respond professionally and calmly. If necessary, take the conversation offline to resolve the matter privately. 
<h5>Encourage Positive Reviews </h5>
One of the best ways to counteract negative feedback is by encouraging satisfied customers to leave positive reviews. You can: 
- Send follow-up emails requesting feedback 
- Offer incentives for leaving honest reviews 
- Engage with positive reviews to show appreciation 
A balance of positive and negative reviews makes your business appear authentic and credible. 
<h3>Handling Difficult Customers </h3>
While most customers simply want their concerns addressed, some may be overly demanding, aggressive, or unreasonable. Here’s how to deal with them effectively: 
<h5>Stay Professional and Empathetic </h5>
No matter how difficult a customer is, maintaining professionalism is key. Avoid matching their aggression and instead remain composed and empathetic. 

<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/03/getty-images-zeKiL-E-KgE-unsplash.jpg" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

<h5>Set Boundaries When Necessary </h5>
If a customer becomes abusive or unreasonable, politely set boundaries: 
- “I want to assist you, but I cannot do so if we continue this conversation in a disrespectful manner.” 
- If necessary, escalate the situation to a manager or higher authority. 
<h5>Know When to Walk Away </h5>
In rare cases, a resolution may not be possible, and a customer may be unwilling to accept any form of assistance. If you’ve exhausted all options, it may be best to end the interaction politely and move on. 
<h3>Turning Negative Feedback into Growth Opportunities </h3>

<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/03/curated-lifestyle-Fs5ngCCRQ3E-unsplash.jpg" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

Negative feedback isn’t just a challenge—it’s a chance to refine your business. Here’s how you can use it constructively: 
<h5>Identify Patterns and Trends </h5>
Look for recurring complaints to determine areas needing improvement. If multiple customers highlight the same issue, it’s time to address it proactively. 
<h5>Implement Customer Feedback into Business Strategies </h5>
Use customer insights to enhance your products, services, or policies. Engage with your team to brainstorm solutions based on customer concerns. 
<h5>Train Your Team </h5>
Ensure employees are equipped with the skills to handle complaints effectively. Conduct regular training on customer service, communication, and conflict resolution. 
<h5>Celebrate Customer Success Stories </h5>
If a once-unhappy customer becomes satisfied due to your excellent response, highlight their story (with permission) as a testament to your commitment to service excellence. 
<h5>Final Thoughts </h5>
Handling unhappy customers and negative feedback is an inevitable part of business, but it doesn’t have to be a crisis. By responding professionally, addressing concerns effectively, and using feedback as a tool for improvement, you can turn challenges into opportunities for growth. Every interaction with a dissatisfied customer is a chance to reinforce trust, demonstrate integrity, and enhance your brand’s reputation. 
Remember, it’s not just about resolving issues, it’s about creating an experience that makes customers feel heard, valued, and appreciated.

How to Handle Unhappy Customers and Negative Feedback Effectively

Looking to promote your UK business without overspending? Discover 15 effective ways to advertise your UK business on a small budget in 2025 and grow your brand affordably.

Running a UK business in 2025 is exciting but also highly competitive. With rising advertising costs and the constant evolution of marketing trends, it can be difficult to reach your audience without overspending. Luckily, there are plenty of affordable strategies that can help you effectively promote your business without breaking the bank. Here are 15 of the best ways to advertise your UK business on a small budget in 2025.
<h3>1. Leverage Social Media (Organic and Paid)</h3>
Social media is a must for any UK business looking to grow in 2025. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and LinkedIn offer a mix of organic reach and affordable paid promotions. Focus on creating engaging content—reels, infographics, and user-generated content—and use targeted ads to amplify your reach.

<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/02/sumaid-pal-singh-bakshi-lelGqkPPa1Q-unsplash.jpg" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

<h6>Tips:</h6>
<ul>
<li>Use Instagram Reels for behind-the-scenes content.</li>
<li>Join UK-based Facebook groups relevant to your niche to share valuable insights and promotions.</li>
</ul>
<h3>2. Local SEO and Google My Business</h3>
Improving your local search presence is crucial for small businesses. Optimizing your Google My Business (GMB) profile helps you appear in local search results, especially for customers searching for services “near me.” Add updated photos, your business hours, and respond to customer reviews.

<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/02/curated-lifestyle-1IBI-1wp9xs-unsplash.jpg" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

<h6>Why It’s Effective:</h6>
<ul>
<li>Free and highly effective in attracting local customers.</li>
<li>Helps your business rank on Google Maps.</li>
</ul>
<h3>3. Email Marketing</h3>
Email marketing remains one of the most affordable and high-converting strategies. Build a list of potential customers and send personalized, value-driven emails. Use tools like Mailchimp or ConvertKit for automation and analytics.

<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/02/getty-images-JjMmNjac6QI-unsplash.jpg" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

<h6>Ideas for Campaigns:</h6>
<ul>
<li>Send exclusive discounts to loyal customers.</li>
<li>Create a monthly newsletter with tips and updates relevant to your industry.</li>
</ul>
<h3>4. Collaborate with Other Local UK Businesses</h3>
Collaborations with other local businesses can expand your reach without extra cost. For instance, if you run a café, partner with a local bakery or florist to offer joint promotions.
<h6>Benefits:</h6>
<ul>
<li>Access each other’s customer base.</li>
<li>Boost your reputation through trusted partnerships.</li>
</ul>
<h3>5. Content Marketing (Blogging and Video)</h3>
Creating valuable content is one of the best ways to attract organic traffic and establish authority in your niche. Regularly update your website with blog posts, how-to guides, and videos relevant to your audience.

<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/02/getty-images-GQmW3GD6sms-unsplash.jpg" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>
<h6>Examples:</h6>
<ul>
<li>Write blog posts about the latest trends in your industry.</li>
<li>Create video tutorials or product demos and share them on YouTube.</li>
</ul>
<h2>6. Influencer Collaborations</h2>
In 2025, influencer marketing is more accessible than ever. You don’t need to hire celebrities; micro-influencers with 5,000–20,000 followers often have a loyal and engaged audience.
<h3></h3>
<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/02/ave-calvar-pSEtRxNMHEo-unsplash.jpg" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

<h6>How to Get Started:</h6>
<ul>
<li>Reach out to UK-based influencers in your niche.</li>
<li>Offer free products or services in exchange for a review or shoutout.</li>
</ul>
<h3>7. Participate in Community Events and Sponsorships</h3>
Get involved in local events and charities to increase your business’s visibility and build goodwill in your community. Sponsorships don’t have to be expensive—sponsoring a local sports team or event can be affordable and impactful.
<h3>8. Utilize WhatsApp Business</h3>
WhatsApp Business is becoming an increasingly popular tool for small businesses in the UK. It allows you to directly communicate with customers, send updates, and even showcase your products.
<h6>Features to Use:</h6>
<ul>
<li>Set up quick replies and automated responses.</li>
<li>Create a product catalog for easy browsing.</li>
</ul>
<h3>9. Run Contests and Giveaways</h3>
Contests and giveaways are excellent for generating buzz and increasing your brand’s visibility. Use social media to run these campaigns and encourage participants to share your business with friends.
<h6>Ideas:</h6>
<ul>
<li>“Tag a friend to win” on Instagram.</li>
<li>Offer free products for reviews or referrals.</li>
</ul>
<h3>10. Focus on Customer Referrals</h3>
Word-of-mouth marketing is still one of the most effective ways to grow your UK business. Create a referral program that rewards loyal customers for bringing in new clients.
<h6>Example:</h6>
<ul>
<li>Offer a discount or free product for every successful referral.</li>
</ul>
<h3>11. Join UK Business Directories</h3>
Being listed in business directories can improve your visibility and help potential customers find you. Look for UK-specific directories like Yell, Thomson Local, <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/" target="_blank">RateUsOnline </a> and Checkatrade (for tradespeople).
<h3>12. Use Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising Strategically</h3>
If you have a small budget for paid ads, focus on Google Ads and Bing Ads. Target long-tail keywords with lower competition for cost-effective campaigns.
<h6>Tips:</h6>
<ul>
<li>Set daily limits to control spending.</li>
<li>Use geo-targeting to focus on local customers.</li>
</ul>
<h3>13. Host Webinars or Live Q&amp;A Sessions</h3>
Hosting a webinar or a live Q&amp;A session can position you as an authority in your industry and attract new leads. Promote these events on social media and your email list.
<h6>Example Topics:</h6>
<ul>
<li>“How to Choose the Best Coffee Beans” (if you run a coffee shop).</li>
<li>“Top Tips for First-Time Homebuyers” (if you’re in real estate).</li>
</ul>
<h3>14. Create a Loyalty Program</h3>
Rewarding repeat customers is an affordable way to boost customer retention. A well-designed loyalty program encourages customers to spend more and recommend your business to others.
<h6>Ideas:</h6>
<ul>
<li>Offer points for every purchase, redeemable for discounts.</li>
<li>Provide early access to new products for loyal customers.</li>
</ul>
<h3>15. Build an Engaged Online Community</h3>
Creating a community around your brand can lead to organic growth and long-term success. Use platforms like Facebook Groups, LinkedIn, or Discord to connect with your audience. Share valuable content, answer questions, and encourage discussions.
<h3>Final Thoughts: Affordable Advertising for Your UK Business in 2025</h3>
Promoting your UK business on a small budget might seem challenging, but it’s entirely achievable with the right strategies. Focus on building genuine relationships with your audience, optimizing your online presence, and leveraging affordable tools like social media and email marketing. By combining multiple strategies, you can maximize your reach without overspending.
Whether you’re a startup or an established business, these 15 tips will help you grow your brand and attract new customers in 2025. Start small, track your results, and adjust your approach as you go. Consistency and creativity are key to success!&nbsp;

What Are the 15 Best Ways to Advertise My UK Business on a Small Budget in 2025?

Discover 10 powerful ways to attract new customers to your startup in 2025, from social media strategies to referral programs and innovative marketing tactics

10 Effective Strategies to Attract New Customers to Your Startup in 2025

Starting a business is challenging, especially when it comes to building a customer base from scratch. In 2025, the landscape of customer acquisition has shifted, requiring startups to adopt innovative strategies to stand out in a competitive market. This blog highlights ten proven ways to attract new customers to your startup.
<h3>1. Leverage Niche Marketing&nbsp;</h3>
Startups often struggle to compete with established brands targeting a broad audience. Instead, identify a niche market where your products or services solve specific problems. <a href="https://www.diversido.io/blog/how-to-get-clients-for-a-new-business-startup-marketing-strategies-to-find-paying-customers" target="_blank">Niche marketing</a> allows you to focus your efforts on a smaller, highly engaged audience, increasing your chances of converting leads into paying customers. Actionable Tip: Conduct detailed market research to understand your niche’s pain points and tailor your marketing campaigns accordingly. Tools like Google Trends and social media analytics can help you pinpoint these opportunities.&nbsp;
<h3 style="text-align:justify;">2. Harness the Power of Social Proof&nbsp;</h3>
<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/01/social proof.png" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

Customer trust is built through validation. Highlighting reviews, testimonials, and case studies from existing customers demonstrates your credibility and encourages potential clients to engage with your brand.&nbsp;
Actionable Tip: Feature customer testimonials on your website and social media platforms. Video testimonials are particularly powerful, as they provide a more authentic and relatable experience for prospective customers.
<h3> 3. Offer Free Trials or Freemium Options </h3>
People love trying before buying. Offering a free trial or freemium version of your product or service can significantly increase interest and allow potential customers to experience its value firsthand.&nbsp;
Actionable Tip: Implement a limited-time free trial or offer a freemium model with basic features that encourage users to upgrade for premium benefits. Ensure the process to sign up for the trial is simple and user-friendly.&nbsp;
<h3>4. Create an Outstanding Online Presence&nbsp;</h3>
A professional and <a href="https://www.thehartford.com/business-insurance/strategy/startup/marketing" target="_blank">user-friendly website</a> is crucial for attracting customers. Most buyers conduct online research before making a purchase decision, so ensure your website clearly communicates your value proposition.&nbsp;

<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/01/com.png" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

Actionable Tip: Optimize your website for search engines (SEO) to improve visibility. Include engaging content such as blogs, videos, and infographics to keep visitors interested and encourage them to explore further.&nbsp;
<h3 style="text-align:justify;">5. Leverage Content Marketing&nbsp;</h3>
Educational and valuable content helps establish your brand as an authority in your industry. Content marketing drives organic traffic to your website and nurtures leads through the sales funnel.&nbsp;
Actionable Tip: Publish high-quality blogs, e-books, webinars, and how-to guides that address common questions or challenges faced by your target audience. Share this content on social media and via email campaigns to maximize reach.&nbsp;
<h3 style="text-align:left;"><a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/how-to-do-analysis-on-free-instagram-hashtag-analytics" target="_blank">ALSO READ: How To Analyze Hashtags On Instagram Analytics </a>&nbsp;</h3>
<h3>6. Engage on Social Media&nbsp;</h3>

<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/01/social.png" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

Social media platforms are indispensable tools for startups to connect with their audience. By consistently sharing engaging content and interacting with followers, you can build a loyal community around your brand.&nbsp;
Actionable Tip: Focus on the platforms your target audience uses most. Post a mix of promotional and value-driven content, and use features like stories, polls, and live videos to engage directly with followers.&nbsp;

<h3 style="text-align:justify;">7. Collaborate with Other Businesses&nbsp;</h3>
Partnering with complementary businesses can help you reach a wider audience and acquire new customers. Cross-promotions and co-branded campaigns are excellent ways to introduce your startup to potential clients.&nbsp;
Actionable Tip: Identify businesses that share a similar target audience but are not direct competitors. Collaborate on joint events, social media campaigns, or bundled offers.&nbsp;
<h3 style="text-align:justify;">8. Run Targeted Advertising Campaigns&nbsp;</h3>
Paid advertising is a fast-track method for reaching potential customers. Platforms like Google Ads and Facebook Ads allow you to target specific demographics, ensuring your campaigns are seen by the right audience.&nbsp;
Actionable Tip: Start with a modest budget and focus on ads with high conversion potential, such as retargeting campaigns. Use A/B testing to refine your messaging and visuals for optimal performance.&nbsp;
<h3>9. Attend Industry Events and Networking Opportunities</h3>
In-person interactions remain a powerful way to build relationships and gain new customers. Industry events, trade shows, and networking meetups provide opportunities to showcase your products and connect with potential clients.&nbsp;
Actionable Tip: Prepare an elevator pitch and bring marketing materials, such as brochures and business cards. Collect contact information and follow up with leads after the event to nurture relationships.&nbsp;
<h3 style="text-align:justify;">10. Implement Referral Programs&nbsp;</h3>
Word-of-mouth remains one of the most effective ways to gain new customers. Referral programs incentivize your current customers to spread the word about your business, rewarding them for bringing in new clients.&nbsp;
Actionable Tip: Offer discounts, freebies, or other perks to customers who refer friends and family. Ensure the program is easy to use, with clear instructions and tracking mechanisms.&nbsp;
<h3 style="text-align:justify;">Conclusion&nbsp;</h3>
Attracting new customers in 2025 requires a blend of traditional and innovative strategies tailored to the needs of your target audience. By implementing these ten methods, your startup can establish a strong customer base and achieve sustainable growth.&nbsp;

10 Ways to Get New Customers for Your Startup Business in 2025  

Discover 15 innovative strategies to encourage customer reviews in 2025. Boost your business reputation, attract more customers, and build trust with actionable tips.

15 Proven Strategies to Inspire Customer Reviews and Boost Your Business in 2025

In the modern digital world, customer reviews serve as a critical driver for business growth. From glowing testimonials to helpful critiques, online feedback significantly impacts purchasing decisions, builds trust, and strengthens your brand. Platforms like Google Reviews, Yelp, and specialized industry review sites function as today’s equivalent of word-of-mouth recommendations, offering unparalleled opportunities to enhance your reputation. 
Looking ahead to 2025, businesses must adopt innovative and customer-centric approaches to encourage reviews. Below are 15 tried-and-tested strategies to motivate customers and boost your online presence. &nbsp;
<h3 style="text-align:justify;">1. Choose the Right Moment to Ask for Reviews </h3>
Timing is crucial when requesting feedback. The best moments to ask for a review are right after a successful transaction or a memorable experience with your brand. This ensures that the customer’s positive emotions are fresh. 
A well-timed email or message might look like this: "Hi [Name], we’re thrilled you enjoyed [Product/Service]! Could you take a moment to share your thoughts? Here’s a quick link: [Insert Link]." 
By acting promptly, you increase the chances of receiving genuine, thoughtful reviews. &nbsp;
<h3 style="text-align:justify;">2. Simplify the Review Submission Process </h3>
<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carrierubinstein/2024/11/13/turning-customer-experience-into-sales-power/" target="_blank">A seamless experience encourages participation</a>. Customers are less likely to leave reviews i f the process is cumbersome or time-consuming. Include direct links to review platforms in follow-up emails, SMS messages, or even on printed receipts. 
Another effective method is to use QR codes. Placing these codes on menus, receipts, or packaging allows customers to access your review page with a single scan. Simplicity is key to higher engagement. &nbsp;

<h3 style="text-align:justify;">3. Leverage Automation for Follow-Ups </h3>
Using automated tools can streamline review requests. Email marketing software and CRM systems allow you to send personalized follow-ups automatically after specific customer interactions. 
Set reminders for those who don’t respond immediately. A gentle nudge like: "We noticed you haven’t had a chance to leave your feedback. We’d still love to hear your thoughts!" keeps the conversation alive without being intrusive. 
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<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/01/person-.png" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

<h3 style="text-align:justify;">4. Personalize Your Requests for Reviews </h3>
Generic messages lack impact. Craft personalized review requests by addressing the customer by name and referencing their specific purchase or service experience. 
Example:
 "Hi [Name], it was a pleasure serving you! Your satisfaction with [Product/Service] means the world to us. Could you share your feedback on [Platform]? Click here: [Insert Link]." 
Adding a personal touch <a href="https://www.zendesk.co.uk/blog/start-providing-personalized-customer-service/" target="_blank">makes your message more engaging and effective</a>. &nbsp;
<h5 style="text-align:justify;"><a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/product-review-websites-for-online-marketers" target="_blank">ALSO READ : Product Review Websites for Online Marketers </a>&nbsp;</h5>
<h3 style="text-align:justify;">5. Request Reviews During Positive Interactions </h3>

<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/01/googlerev.png" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

Face-to-face conversations can leave a lasting impression. Train your staff to ask for reviews after positive experiences, such as when customers express satisfaction with their purchase or visit. 
For instance, a server in a restaurant could say: "We’re glad you enjoyed your meal! If you’d like, you can share your experience by scanning this QR code. Your feedback really helps!" 
This approach adds a human touch to the review process. &nbsp;

<h3 style="text-align:justify;">6. Explain the Value of Reviews to Customers </h3>
Educating customers about the importance of their reviews can encourage participation. Let them know their input helps improve your services and aids other consumers in making informed decisions. 
For example: "Your feedback helps us grow and ensures we deliver the best experiences possible. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!" 
By explaining the impact of reviews, you empower customers to contribute meaningfully. &nbsp;
<h3 style="text-align:justify;">7. Offer Incentives—The Ethical Way&nbsp;</h3>
Incentives can motivate reviews, but they must comply with platform policies. Rather than rewarding only positive reviews, offer small perks for honest feedback. 
Ideas include discounts on future purchases, loyalty program points, or a raffle entry for a prize. This approach fosters trust while encouraging higher participation. &nbsp;

<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/01/imkara-visual-apXsoNC89t4-unsplash.jpg" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

<h3 style="text-align:justify;">8. Send Polite Follow-Up Reminders&nbsp;</h3>
Sometimes, customers forget to leave reviews. A friendly reminder can bring your request back to their attention. <a href="https://business.trustpilot.com/blog/browsers-to-buyers/five-creative-ways-to-encourage-reviews-and-increase-conversions" target="_blank">Send a follow-up email a few days after the initial message, and if needed, another one a week later. </a>
Example: "Hi [Name], just a reminder—your feedback means a lot to us! It only takes a minute, and here’s the link: [Insert Link]. Thanks again for your support!" &nbsp;
<h3 style="text-align:justify;">9. Respond to Reviews with Care </h3>
Acknowledging customer feedback—both positive and negative—shows you value their opinion. Thank customers for positive reviews and address any concerns raised in critical ones with empathy and professionalism. 
Example: "Thank you for your kind words, [Name]! We’re thrilled you had a great experience and look forward to serving you again soon." 
For negative reviews, use a constructive tone: "We’re sorry to hear about your experience, [Name]. Please contact us at [Contact Information] so we can address your concerns personally." &nbsp;
<h3 style="text-align:justify;">10. Highlight Reviews Across Your Platforms </h3>
Showcase positive reviews on your website, social media channels, and email newsletters. This not only builds credibility but also inspires others to leave their feedback. 
Embedding live review widgets from Google or Yelp on your website creates transparency and boosts trust. &nbsp;
<h3 style="text-align:justify;">11. Provide Simple Writing Prompts </h3>
Sometimes, customers hesitate because they’re unsure of what to write. Simplify the process by offering helpful prompts. 
For example: "What did you purchase? How did it meet your expectations? Was there a standout moment during your experience?" 
These prompts encourage meaningful feedback while reducing hesitation. &nbsp;
<h3 style="text-align:justify;">12. Use Social Media to Encourage Reviews </h3>
Your social media channels are powerful tools for gathering feedback. Post reminders to leave reviews and thank those who’ve already done so. 
Example: "We appreciate every piece of feedback we receive! Share your thoughts and help us serve you better. Leave a review here: [Link]." 
Engage your audience with contests or special campaigns (while staying compliant with platform policies). &nbsp;

<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/01/rev-.png" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

<h3 style="text-align:justify;">13. Deliver Memorable Customer Experiences&nbsp;</h3>
Exceptional service naturally leads to positive reviews. Focus on exceeding expectations and creating moments that customers want to share. 
Well-trained employees and attention to detail can leave lasting impressions that translate into glowing testimonials. &nbsp;
<h3 style="text-align:justify;">14. Utilize Point-of-Sale Systems for Instant Feedback </h3>
Brick-and-mortar businesses can use POS systems to prompt customers for reviews at checkout. Add reminders to receipts or payment screens, such as: "Thank you for visiting! Share your experience by scanning this QR code." 
This immediate reminder capitalizes on fresh impressions. &nbsp;
<h3 style="text-align:justify;">15. Target Industry-Specific Review Platforms </h3>
In addition to general platforms, identify niche review sites relevant to your industry. 
For instance: 
<ul>
<li style="text-align:justify;">Restaurants: OpenTable </li>
<li style="text-align:justify;">Hotels and Travel: TripAdvisor </li>
<li style="text-align:justify;">Healthcare: Healthgrades </li>
</ul>
Expanding your review strategy to specialized platforms broadens your credibility and reach. &nbsp;
<h3 style="text-align:justify;">Conclusion </h3>
Customer reviews are invaluable for fostering trust, improving services, and attracting new business. By implementing these 15 strategies, you can build a culture of feedback that benefits both your company and your customers. 
As 2025 unfolds, stay flexible and embrace emerging trends to maintain a competitive edge. Start encouraging reviews today, and watch your business thrive in the evolving digital landscape.

15 Innovative Strategies to Motivate Customers to Write Reviews for Your Business in 2025 

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the global economy, providing jobs and driving innovation. However, in 2024, SMEs are navigating a challenging environment characterized by economic uncertainty, rapid technological shifts, and changing customer expectations. These dynamics are expected to continue into 2025, presenting both hurdles and opportunities for business owners. 
This guide offers practical small business tips to help SMEs overcome financial challenges in 2025, ensuring they remain resilient and prepared for the future. &nbsp;
<h4>1. Embrace Technological Solutions for Payment Processing&nbsp;</h4>
Handling payments efficiently is critical for any business, but traditional payment systems often come with high upfront costs and maintenance fees. Many SMEs struggle to justify these expenses, especially when resources are tight. 

<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/01/blake-wisz-tE6th1h6Bfk-unsplash.jpg" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

Fortunately, advancements like Software Point of Sale (SoftPoS) technology offer a cost-effective solution. SoftPoS allows businesses to turn everyday devices, such as smartphones or tablets, into payment terminals. This reduces the need for expensive equipment and aligns with emerging trends like contactless payments and digital wallets. Not only does this enhance the customer experience, but it also lowers operating costs. 
In 2025, staying ahead means embracing such <a href="https://www.mastercard.com/gateway/expertise/insights/2024-payment-industry-challenges.html" target="_blank">technologies to remain competitive</a> and meet growing consumer demand s for convenience and speed. 
<h4>2. Prioritize Employee Retention and Recruitment </h4>
Finding and retaining skilled employees remains a top challenge for SMEs. Many small businesses report difficulties filling key roles due to stiff competition and rising wage expectations. To tackle this, SMEs should focus on creating an environment where employees feel valued. Offering competitive salaries is just one part of the equation. Providing workplace flexibility, professional growth opportunities, and comprehensive benefits packages can significantly improve employee satisfaction. Benefits like retirement plans, wellness programs, and child care support go a long way in reducing turnover. 
Retaining top talent not only stabilizes operations but also enhances the reputation of the business, making it more attractive to potential hires. <a href="https://blog.umb.com/business-banking-small-business-tips-overcoming-economic-challenges/?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank">UMB Blog</a>&nbsp;
<h4>3. Conduct Regular Financial Assessments </h4>
Financial planning is the cornerstone of any successful business. In today’s volatile economy, SMEs must regularly assess their financial health to adapt to changing conditions. 
One effective tool is a 13-week cash flow forecast. This provides a clear, short-term view of a company’s financial position, allowing owners to anticipate potential shortfalls and adjust spending proactively. Regularly reviewing budgets and revising them based on current costslike wages, utilities, and materials ensures businesses stay on track. 
Frequent financial assessments are not just about staying afloat; they empower SMEs to seize new opportunities when they arise. <a href="https://readylogic.co/financial-challenges-encountered-by-small-businesses-and-practical-solutions-to-overcome-them/?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank">ReadyLogic</a>&nbsp;
<h4>4. Separate Personal and Business Finances </h4>
One of the most common mistakes new business owners make is mixing personal and business finances. While it may seem convenient initially, this practice can lead to complications during tax season or when seeking funding. 
Using a dedicated business credit card simplifies expense tracking and provides additional benefits, such as higher credit limits and better cash flow management. It also protects personal assets by creating a clear boundary between personal and professional obligations. For SMEs looking to scale, this separation is essential for building credibility with lenders and investors. <a href="https://blog.umb.com/business-banking-small-business-tips-overcoming-economic-challenges/?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank">UMB Blog</a>&nbsp;
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<h4>5. Adopt Effective Debt Management Strategies </h4>
Debt can be a double-edged sword. While it enables growth and expansion, mismanaged debt can quickly spiral into a financial burden. SMEs should actively manage their debt to ensure it supports, rather than hinders, their operations. 
Consider offering early payment discounts to customers as an incentive to settle invoices quickly. Implementing automated invoicing systems can also reduce delays and errors. For businesses struggling with cash flow, accounts receivable financing provides immediate access to funds without taking on new loans. 
In 2025, staying vigilant about debt will be crucial for maintaining financial stability. 
<h4>6. Encourage Prompt Customer Payments </h4>
Late payments from clients are a common issue for SMEs and can disrupt cash flow. To combat this, consider offering incentives for early payments, such as small discounts or additional perks. 
Automating payment reminders through software can also help reduce overdue invoices. Clearly outlining payment terms and penalties for late payments in contracts can further ensure accountability. Remember, a steady cash flow is the lifeblood of any small business it pays to be proactive in this area.
<h4>7. Tap Into Government Support Programs </h4>
Governments worldwide offer programs aimed at supporting SMEs through training, mentoring, and financial assistance. For example, the UK’s "Help to Grow" scheme provides valuable resources for small businesses seeking to enhance productivity and resilience. Taking advantage of these initiatives can equip business owners with new skills, industry insights, and even grants or low-interest loans. Regularly researching available programs in your region ensures you’re not leaving money or opportunities on the table. <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/6458ae27-f628-488e-a9a6-f4f7332bd177?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank">Financial Times</a>&nbsp;
<h4>8. Address Industry-Specific Challenges </h4>
Every industry comes with its own unique set of challenges. For instance, businesses in hospitality and retail often face higher payment processing fees, while those in professional services may deal with slower-paying clients. Identifying and understanding these issues is the first step toward resolving them. Retail businesses might explore alternative payment processors to reduce fees, while service-based SMEs could establish stricter payment terms with clients. 
Tailoring your strategy to your industry ensures your <a href="https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/reports/survey/2024/2024-report-on-payments" target="_blank">business remains competitive and efficient</a> . 
<h4>9. Streamline Operations with Lean Practices </h4>
Efficiency is key for SMEs looking to stay profitable in tough economic times. Adopting lean operational practices can help eliminate waste and maximize productivity. 
This involves evaluating all aspects of your operations, from supply chain management to marketing and cutting out non-essential expenditures. For example, renegotiating vendor contracts or automating repetitive tasks can save both time and money. By focusing on core activities, SMEs can maintain agility and adapt quickly to market changes, ensuring long-term success. 
<h6 style="text-align:left;"><a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/how-to-open-a-business-in-the-uk" target="_self">READ MORE : How to Open a Business in the UK </a> </h6>
<h4>10. Prepare for Uncertainties with Contingency Planning </h4>
Unforeseen challenges, such as sudden economic downturns or supply chain disruptions, can derail even the best-laid plans. 

<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2025/01/scott-graham-5fNmWej4tAA-unsplash.jpg" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>

That’s why having a <a href="https://blog.umb.com/business-banking-small-business-tips-overcoming-economic-challenges" target="_blank">contingency plan is essential</a> . Start by building financial reserves to cushion against unexpected expenses. Securing lines of credit before they’re needed is another smart move, as it provides access to funds during emergencies. Additionally, identify areas where costs can be quickly reduced without compromising operations. 
Preparedness is the key to resilience, allowing SMEs to weather storms and come out stronger.
<h4>Conclusion: Building Resilience for 2025 </h4>
The journey of a small business is never without its challenges. However, by adopting a proactive and multifaceted approach, SMEs can overcome financial hurdles and position themselves for success. In 2025, the focus should be on leveraging technology, retaining skilled talent, maintaining strict financial discipline, and tapping into available resources. Each of these strategies contributes to building a resilient business that can adapt to the dynamic economic landscape. With the right mindset and tools, small business owners can turn challenges into opportunities and ensure sustainable growth for years to come. 
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 SMALL BUSINESS TIPS: OVERCOMING FINANCIAL CHALLENGES IN 2025 

Looking for a way to improve your business website but not sure where to start, we’ve highlighted several ways Google analytics for business growth.

How Google Analytics Is Helpful for Business Growth ?

If you want to improve your business website but aren’t sure where to start, you’re in the right place. The answer lies in one key resource: data. You might wonder, “Why data? How will it help me?” If you’re not a tech expert and your sales seem steady, it’s easy to think you’re doing fine. And for some small businesses, focusing only on sales numbers might seem sufficient. However, there’s a challenge you can’t ignore—your customers are online, and they’re on Google, where they have access to countless options, including your competitors.&nbsp;
This is where Google Analytics (GA) can make a difference. Over 40 million websites already use Google Analytics, with that number steadily growing. Yet, many small business owners overlook its potential, often finding the data overwhelming or unclear. If that sounds familiar, don’t worry—we’re here to help. In this guide, we’ll show you how Google Analytics can be a game-changer for your business, driving growth and giving you a competitive edge. Read on to discover how it works and how you can benefit.&nbsp;
<h2 style="text-align:start;">1. Uncovers Marketing Channels That Drive the Most Traffic&nbsp;</h2>
Google Analytics helps business owners know where their site traffic comes from, whether it’s social media or organic search. Understanding the source of your traffic can help you fine-tune your marketing campaigns to increase traffic flow from one source and drive more traffic from other sources. Also, you’ll get to understand which marketing campaigns work and which ones don’t. This way you can decide which campaign requires more of your time, energy, and money. For example, if a Facebook Ad isn’t driving as much traffic to your site as you expected, you can shift your focus to organic search traffic by optimizing your site with relevant keywords. If next month’s Google Analytics shows an increase in organic traffic, then allefforts paid off. Besides traffic data, Google Analytics also provides business owners with information about leads and sales.&nbsp;
<h2 style="text-align:start;">2. Determines Your Audience Geographical Location&nbsp;</h2>
Through the Google Analytics acquisition section, you can find a detailed report of the location of your visitors. You can use this information to steer your marketing efforts in the right direction. Once business owners have an idea where most of their audience is located, they can modify their business to better suit the needs of these specific audiences. With the help of the data, you can also formulate marketing and SEO strategies and solutions that address your users’ frustration points. Furthermore, you can measure the potential of the product and service you provide. You can then use data to re-affirm your current targeted market or find new markets ideal for your small business.&nbsp;
Read Also: <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/smartest-web-analytics-tools-for-business-growth/" target="_self">Smartest Web Analytics Tools For Business</a> Growth&nbsp;
<h2 style="text-align:start;">3. Delivers Information on Site’s Demographic&nbsp;</h2>
When it comes to making business decisions, it’s crucial to enhance the user experience rather than hurting your current customers. It’s even more rewarding if you can attract the attention of new customers. If you want to make safe and well informed decisions, you need to understand your visitors first, and Google analytics can help you achieve that. With the help of GA, you can find all the information about your visitors’ gender, location, interests, etc. Alternatively, you can learn about what technology (mobile devices, browsers, and operating systems) they’re using to access your website. As such, you can test how compatible your website is with those technologies. Then, determine which improvements you can make. For example, if most of your visitors access your website via a mobile device, it’s wise to make your site more mobile-friendly. You can also create translations for your website to appeal to the audience from different locations. Information about your site’s demographics allows you to know whether you’re targeting the right audience. When you analyze the data, you’ll get to identify what sections of your business you need to concentrate your efforts on.&nbsp;
<h2 style="text-align:start;">4. Reveals The Most Profitable Marketing Channels&nbsp;</h2>
When your landing page has a conversion goal set up on GA, you can identify which marketing channels are worth your effort and time. For instance, if you set up Facebook Ad and the link attached to your ad directs visitors to your site’s landing page. The page can gather various information about your visitors and send them a free guide. GA will show you which ad sent the most visitors to your landing page and the number of individuals who filled out the forms completely. Besides that, websites owners can see referral sites. So, if an individual visits their sites by clicking a product or form on another website, they can see the conversion rate. Google Analytics makes it easier for websites owners to see the number of people who visit the different pages on their websites. They can also determine which path users take to move from one page to another. This data coupled up with the conversion rate can help boost the effectiveness of their website pages.&nbsp;
<h2 style="text-align:start;">How Google Analytics 4 (GA4) Is Helpful for Business Growth&nbsp;</h2>
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the latest iteration of Google\'s analytics platform, designed to provide businesses with enhanced tools for data-driven decision-making. Unlike its predecessor, Universal Analytics, GA4 is more focused on user-centric measurement and predictive insights. Here’s how GA4 can contribute to business growth: &nbsp;
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is a powerful tool for business growth, offering advanced features like cross-platform tracking, event-based data models, and AI-driven insights. Unlike its predecessor, GA4 provides a unified view of customer interactions across websites and mobile apps, enabling businesses to understand the entire user journey. Its event-based tracking allows for more granular insights into key actions like purchases or downloads, while AI-powered predictions help businesses target customers likely to convert or churn. Additionally, GA4\'s focus on privacy ensures compliance with regulations like GDPR and CCPA, building trust with users.&nbsp;
With deeper integration into the Google ecosystem and customizable reporting, GA4 empowers businesses to optimize their marketing strategies and focus on long-term customer value. Features like real-time data monitoring, funnel analysis, and lifetime value metrics enable agile decision-making and sustainable growth. By leveraging GA4’s comprehensive analytics and privacy-first approach, businesses can make informed, data-driven decisions that enhance customer experiences and drive competitive advantage. &nbsp;
<h2 style="text-align:start;">How Companies Use Google Analytics&nbsp;</h2>
Google Analytics offers business owners a wealth of information about their consumers’ behaviors and websites. Using the data, business owners can critically examine their websites and make improvements. As a result, they will improve user experience and increase traffic. At first glance, GA might seem scary. But if you wish to boost the growth of your dynamic and customer-focused startup, you need a quality site that represents your business. Google Analytics data can help you improve your website by providing more insight about your website traffic, where they’re coming from, what topics they’re interested in, and which pages they visit the most. That said, here’s how companies use google analytics:&nbsp;
<h4 style="text-align:left;">1. To Determine How They Stack Up Against Competition&nbsp;</h4>
Using GA’s benchmarks tab, businesses can determine how they’re doing compared to their competitors. Of Course, the data is not 100 percent accurate since some of their competitors don’t use GA. But it’s much better than having nothing. They provide them with insights on how their website ranks compared to other sites in their industry.&nbsp;
<h4 style="text-align:left;">2. To Figure Out How Long People Stay on a Website&nbsp;</h4>
Increased traffic to a page means increased sales. But sometimes, businesses need to control how long people stay on their websites. The speed by which people leave a website after checking the first page is called bounce rate. Using Google Analytics, businesses can see the time visitors stay on site, and time sped on-page. This way, they can know how long people stick around their websites. If visitors are not sticking around, your website needs some modification. Maybe it’s the poorsite design or the product/service you’re offering that doesn’t meet their needs. Either way, you need to figure out where the problem lies so you can boost your revenue.&nbsp;
<h3 style="text-align:left;">3. To Segment Customer Base&nbsp;</h3>
Segmentation allows businesses to understand how their users behave on their websites. GA’s Advances Segments classify website users based on certain criteria and tell business owners how various groups(segments) interact with their websites. From there, it compares the performance of the segment with how the whole site performs. For example, a watch store might have a specific collection of high-end watches. They may have only a specific group of customers (segment) that purchase these watches. To properly target this segment with a marketing campaign, the business can create a segment on Google Analytics. As a result, they can add more value to their marketing strategy.&nbsp;
<h4 style="text-align:left;">4. Google Analytics for Business Website&nbsp;</h4>
Information from Google analytics can position businesses to make more informed sale and marketing decisions. Furthermore, it can improve their websites to attract more traffic and convert visitors into leads. Now, let’s dive into how you can install Google Analytics for business websites. The installation of Google Analytics depends on how the business website is built. The process is hassle-free and fast, but you might need some technical know-how. It’s straightforward, and with a little help, GA will be up and running, and you can start collecting data.&nbsp;
<h2 style="text-align:start;">Step-by-Step Process of Installing Google Analytics&nbsp;</h2>
<h4 style="text-align:start;">1. Set up a Google Account&nbsp;</h4>
The first step is to create a <a href="https://analytics.google.com/" target="_self">Google</a> <a href="https://analytics.google.com/" target="_self">Analytics accoun</a>t
<h4 style="text-align:left;">2. Get Your Website Tracking Code&nbsp;</h4>
A global Tracking Code allows GA to capture your website traffic data and feed it to your Google Analytics Account. The tracking code must be installed in every “Header” on your site’s page. Here’s where you might need to help of a developer. But if you’ve built your website on Wix, Weebly, or Squarespace, you can use Google Analytics integrations available on the DIY site builder platform.&nbsp;
<h5 style="text-align:start;">3. Verify Successful Tracking&nbsp;</h5>
You can verify if you’ve successfully installed Google Analytics on your site using the following methods:&nbsp;
Wait and See It usually takes between 1 to 2 days before you receive data in your Google Analytics accounts. After two days, visit Google Analytics’ official website. Go to website View and tap to see if any standard reports contain data.&nbsp;
Check The Real-Time Reports If two days seems a lot, check the Real-Time Reporting section in GA to ensure data is getting processed. Head to Reports&gt; Real-Time, and if you see data getting populated, then you’re set.&nbsp;
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Assistant" target="_self">Google Tag Assistant</a> is fairly simple to set up. It’s a chrome extension that ensures all Google Tracking tags are working correctly on your website and others. Using the plugin, you can change your future tags and scrips instantly verifying that they are firing as meant to. You can also install Google Analytics by setting up <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tag_management_system" target="_self">Google Tag Manager</a>. On that note, Google offers its users lots of documentation on how to install Google Analytics for business websites.&nbsp;
<h4 style="text-align:left;">Conclusion&nbsp;</h4>
Google Analytics can change your business in ways never thought possible. Setting it up for your website is just the start. The more time you spend using GA, the more you learn. After a while, you’ll be able to improve your online presence, generate quality traffic and eventually generate more leads. The internet is full of Google Analytics for business articles. Read them to get a more in-depth understanding of this powerful platform. This way, you can take advantage of all its benefits.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

How Google Analytics Is Helpful for Business Growth

Caucasian advisor financial business analytics woman with data dashboard graphs

The usage of hashtags has surged significantly on social media. Here are some of the best free Instagram hashtag analytics tools you can use:

How To Do Analysis On Free Instagram Hashtag Analytics ? Pro Tips

The usage of hashtags has surged significantly over the past couple of years on social media. Most companies create custom hashtags for their campaigns, which makes it easy for them to keep track of conversations and relevant posts. Hashtags have proven to be very useful over the years, has most brands and businesses have been able to record huge successes by expanding the reach of their business and creating more awareness with hashtags. 

While hashtags are very important, you need to know how to analyze hashtags on Instagram analytics to be able to make the most out of the data you get. Fortunately, there are many hashtag analytics tools out there that you can use to analyze your hashtags to make well-informed decisions. 

With the right Instagram analytics tool, you would be able to understand how your social marketing efforts are paying off. You would be able to know the strategies that are working and the ones that are not. This would help you to know where you need to put more effort to enhance your results and ROI. Here are some of the best free Instagram hashtag analytics tools you can use:
<h2>Hashtag Analytics Tool – Best Instagram Hashtag Analytics App</h2>
<h3>1. <a href="https://keyhole.co/">Keyhole</a></h3>
Keyhole is a highly reliable hashtag analytic tool. This tool comes in handy when researching new hashtags or when trying to see trending hashtags. With this tool, you can search for any hashtag (whether new or trending) and get real-time data. You would be able to track who is using it, the frequency of usage, and other vital data that can help you get the most out of Instagram hashtags. 

<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10578 size-full aligncenter" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/11/keyhole.png" alt="instagram analytics graph" width="662" height="432" />

This tool is also versatile, as you can use it to track hashtags on Twitter as well. The tool will show you the number of posts with your hashtags within a specific timeframe. It will also show you the first time your hashtag was used as well as when it started getting engagements. Keyhole has several monthly plans, but you can start using the tool for a free trial. 
<h5>Read More: <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/smartest-web-analytics-tools-for-business-growth/">Smartest Web Analytics Tools For Business Growth </a></h5>
<h3>2. <a href="https://youscan.io/">YouScan.io</a></h3>
YouScan is another very powerful social media analytics tool that you can use to analyze hashtags on Instagram. One of the unique features of this tool is that it also allows you to analyze images. This social media intelligence platform is powered by artificial intelligence, and it boasts industry-leading image recognition capabilities.

<img class="img-fluid alignnone wp-image-10579 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/11/1-.png" alt="YouScan social media analytics tool" width="1088" height="660" /> 

This tool also comes in handy in other aspects of your brand such as helping you to manage your brand reputation, understand your brand perception, and carry out rapid market research. It can also help you to find brand ambassadors and influencers as well as to measure your marketing performance.
<h5>Read More: <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/free-instagram-analytics-tools/">Free Instagram Analytics Tools You Should Be Using in 2021</a></h5>
<h3>3. <a href="https://later.com/instagram-analytics/">Later</a></h3>
If you are looking for a very effective Instagram analytics tool to enhance your Instagram marketing strategy, you should consider it later. This platform offers a wide range of features that will not only help you to analyze hashtags on Instagram but also enhance marketing strategies. 

<img class="img-fluid alignnone wp-image-10580 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/11/2-.png" alt="social media posts engagement data on lateron social media analytics tool" width="1088" height="660" />

The Linkin-bio feature of this tool is one of its major selling points. This unique feature makes it possible for you to link your IG posts to specific URLs like product pages. With this, you can track page views, website clicks, click-through rates, and more from your IG profile. You would also be able to track the number of sales generated by each post. 

This tool has a freemium and premium version. The freemium package offers the basic tools while the premium will give you access to all the features of the platform. It will also give you access to tools like Instagram Story insights. 
<h3>4. <a href="http://sproutsocial.com/">Sprout Social</a></h3>
Sprout social is increasingly becoming popular because of its Instagram analytics and hashtag tool. With the Instagram Analytics tools of Sprout Social, you can manage and grow your IG presence with ease. With this platform, you can analyze several vital Instagram metrics such as Instagram hashtag performance, Instagram post-performance, Instagram audience growth, Instagram Story performance, and more. 

<img class="img-fluid alignnone wp-image-10581 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/11/sprout.png" alt="sprout social Instagram analytics and hashtag tool" width="662" height="423" />

This tool also allows you to analyze the performance of your competitors on Instagram, ensuring that you are always ahead in the game. The platform also offers a 30-day free trial to start monitoring and analyzing your Instagram performance. After 30 days, you would have to start paying $99 per month for one user. 
<h3>5. <a href="https://www.commandforig.com/">Command for Instagram</a></h3>
Command for Instagram is one of the most affordable Instagram hashtag analytic tools. This tool is very cheap, and it offers outstanding hashtag analytics, making it a great option for those with a limited budget. With this tool, you can monitor the performance of your IG hashtags. This will help you to see the hashtags that are delivering the most engagement for your business. It will also show you the comments and likes generated by your hashtags. 

The tool will help you find out the hashtags driving the highest engagement for your brand. With this, you would have critical insights into the interests of your target audience. The tool is free to download, but the premium version costs $9.99 per month. 
<h3>6. <a href="https://pro.iconosquare.com/">Iconosquare</a></h3>
Iconosquare is one of the best, most popular Instagram management systems. This tool comes with many useful features that allow you to make the most out of Instagram. In addition to allowing you to analyze your hashtags on Instagram, this tool allows you to track comments, get in-depth analytics, schedule posts, and respond to comments. 

You can access the hashtag analysis features of this tool in its higher price plans – Elite package and upward. With this tool, you can measure the engagement of your hashtags. It also allows you to assess the growth of campaign or branded hashtags. 

The tool is also very easy to use. It comes with easy-to-navigate menus with clear instructions in every section. Once you add a hashtag to your dashboard, you can start tracking the hashtag – it is that easy. It also has an overview chart that allows you to compare hashtags. It will show you metrics like the percentage of geotagged media and the number of posts that contain the hashtag. 

This tool is also great for team players and social marketers because it allows for data exportation. You can download all your data as a .CSV file. Their pricing is also reasonable compared to other high-end platforms. With a starting price of $29 per month, you would have access to most of its features. 
<h2>Best Free Hashtag Tracking Tools</h2>
<h3>1. Instagram Insights </h3>
Instagram Insights provides one of the best ways to analyze hashtags on the platform. It is the inbuilt Instagram analytics app, and it can be accessed by those using a Creator Account or Instagram Business. 

This built-in tool provides quality insights into the performance of your account, including your ads, reach, followers, and engagements. This tool is 100 percent free, but it might not be the best option for serious social marketers. It is best suited for light, short-term tracking. 
<h3>2. <a href="https://www.pixlee.com/instagram-analytics">Pixlee’s Free Instagram Analytics</a></h3>
If you are looking for a free, yet powerful Instagram hashtag analytics tool, this is one of the best options you have. With this free tool, you can easily search and track hashtags on Instagram. Every week, you will get reports on the statistic of your hashtags. 

<img class="img-fluid alignnone wp-image-10582 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/11/pixlees.png" alt="Pixlee’s Free Instagram Analytics" width="1005" height="506" />

It allows you to keep track of both social media user-generated content and your brand-created content. This tool also comes with other great tools such as social listening features, which makes it easy for you to identify the top influencers of your brand and monitor conversations about your brand. 

The tool will also show you snapshots of customer posts about your brand. It is very easy to use; you do not need to be tech-savvy to use the tool. 
<h3>3. <a href="https://ritetag.com/">RiteTag</a></h3>
RiteTag is another free Instagram Hashtag Analytics and highly reliable tool that you can use to analyze your hashtags on Instagram. This tool comes with many great features that make it easy for you to expand the reach of your brand on Instagram. If you are not sure which <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2017/12/28/how-to-effectively-use-hashtags-to-grow-your-business-following/">hashtags to use</a>, this tool can suggest several relevant hashtags for you. 

It would provide you with information about the exposure, reach, and engagement of your hashtags. In addition to being highly active on Instagram, you can use this tool on other social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. This means you can manage your hashtags across different social platforms all in one place. 

The tool also provides instant feedback on hashtags. In addition to suggesting hashtags to use, this tool can also recommend hashtags that you should not use. It provides accurate analytics on your hashtags, helping you to keep track of your success. It does not provide analytics for only the hashtags you are using but also the ones you are following. 

Final Thoughts

Hashtags are very important, and they play a key role in your overall Instagram strategy. They cannot replace good creative and great content but they contribute significantly to the success of your marketing strategy on social media platforms. As such, knowing how to analyze and use your hashtag data effectively in your social media strategies is very important. With the free Instagram hashtag analytics tools above, you would be able to analyze and measure the performance of your Instagram hashtags, which can help you make data-driven decisions about your business.

How To Analyze Hashtags On Instagram Analytics

African American Businessman At Laptop Working With Internet Marketing Charts And Graphs Doing Web Content Analysis Sitting In Modern Office. Business Promotion Strategy. Collage, Cropped, Rear View

Businessman At Laptop Working With Internet Marketing Charts In Office

Multiple web analytics tools have multiple unique functionalities. Here, we have sorted the best web analytics tools to help your business grow in no time.

Web Analytics Tools For Business Growth By RateUsOnline

According to the UK Office for National Statistics, 45% of all UK businesses have a website. And over the next 5 years you can expect many more companies will move their operations online. The main reason businesses want to be online is so that they can reach more customers and deliver quality products. But what if you could understand how your website performs and how your customers respond to your site? What if you could gain information via your website and your competitors that you could use to overtake your competition? Well, all this has been made possible courtesy of smart web analytics tools. The tools are pretty efficient in helping you gather essential data about your business from your website. To know more about how these tools operate, follow along and let us unravel this mystery. There are thousands of website analytic tools available for use. Hence the options can overwhelm you. However, in this article, we have sorted out the best web analytics tools to help your business grow within no time. Multiple tools have multiple unique functionalities. However, after laying them all down for you, your options will seem a bit clearer. The web analytics tools discussed in this article will, without a doubt, provide the proper insight into your web strategy.&nbsp;
<h2>What exactly is Smart Web Analytics Tools</h2>
Before we move into the smartest web analytics tools, let us first understand what web analytics entails. Web analytics can simply be defined as: The Quantitative and qualitative data analysis from your site and your competition's site. It aims to drive continual improvement as per customer online experience, which in turn breeds more customers. The outcome of using these tools is growth both offline and online.
· Website traffic (how many users visit your site)&nbsp;
· Pageviews &nbsp;
· What pages are most popular&nbsp;
· How long do users spend on yoursite &nbsp;
· If there is a part of your website that needs improvement &nbsp;
· How many users buy or engage with your product or services.The best part is that the information is provided as per your website and your competitor’s website. After gaining all this information, the next question pop-ups. What are you going to do with the knowledge gained? Well, that is simple. You can compare your website with your competition’s to understand the points you need to improve. You also get to know the points that are working well with the strategy of your site. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. With such information, you can completely alter your customer online experience and make it better and meaningful.&nbsp;
<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/10/web-analytics2-1024x713.jpg" alt="web analytics tools for businesses" style="height: ;width: "/>

<h5>Read Also: <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/free-instagram-analytics-tools/" target="_self">Free Instagram Analytics Tools You Should Be Using In 2021</a></h5>
<h2>What was the First Web Analytic Tool?</h2>
Technology has grown over time, and so have analytic tools. Well, the very first web-analytic tools to be used took the "<a href="https://www.easytechjunkie.com/what-is-a-hit-counter.htm" target="_self">hit counter</a>" form. Hit counter or web counter were code chunks coded using PHP script. The codes display a simple number image that incremented each time these code chunks were run. Of course, the hit counters lacked in terms of metrics sophistication, but well, the tech had not advanced back then. However, the tools were great as per user interaction.&nbsp;
<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/10/web-analytics3.jpg" alt="discussion on web analytics insights" style="height: ;width: "/>
<h2>Web Analytics Tools</h2>
<h3>1. Google Analytics</h3>
Rated as one of the best web analytics tools worldwide, Google analytics is undoubtedly a must-have tool for your business. Using this tool, you can:&nbsp;
1- Track and perform analysis on your web traffic. 2- Track the keywords that are bringing in more visitors to your website. 3- Track the design aspects as per your website that are turning customers off.
You can also understand information regarding your site’s visitors, Traffic source (how users got to your website), set up goals, and understand the performance of your ecommerce store. Go with this tool, you can scale your business up and give your competition a run for their money. However, the tool has a downside. Google analytics takes a pretty long time to update successfully. But as per other functionalities, it is fantastic. The tool has also been around for a relatively long time, hence proven effective by many users.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/10/google-analytics.png" alt="google analytics web tool " style="height: ;width: "/>

<h3>2. Yahoo Website Analytics</h3>
After mastering Google Analytics, Yahoo website analytics gives you a chance to survey your website further. The tools provide: Great access controlling options, a pretty simple multi-site analysis approach, Real-time and raw data collection, site visitors behaviour, demographic report as well as customized options. Yahoo provides a chance for you to take things up a notch from Google analytics in terms of: Customization, Profiling and Filtering. Hence if you wish to gain more understanding about your website, then Yahoo is the tool for you.&nbsp;
<h3>3. Crazy Egg</h3>
Mouse movement in a website – mouse movement mostly goes hand in hand with eye movement, which means people mostly look at what they point at on a website. Hence when you track mouse movement, you know the points that attract your visitors the most. The mouse movement functionality is excellent for adverts.&nbsp;
Clicks in a website – Clicks portray visitor-site interaction. Hence, the points that have more clicks are the points that visitors interact with the most. Using this information, you can know the points that require modification and those that do not. Crazy Egg is truly a phenomenon tool. For rapid growth, this tool is a must-have.&nbsp;
<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/10/crazyegg.png" alt="heat map on crazy egg tool" style="height: ;width: "/>

<h3>4. Google Web Optimizer</h3>
Google web optimizer is a free tool that provides testing services for your website. For example, you can successfully rotate varying web content segments to see the placement and sections that gain more clicks using the tool. It also tracks the number of clicks that generate the most sales. Using Google web optimizer, you can easily choose the part in your site to test. Some testable parts include: text, headlines, and images. You can select any of the parts above, experiment on them until you gain a positive response from your customers.&nbsp;
Google web optimizer is a great tool that you can use to test: content, landing pages, multiple site versions running at the same time and run complex variations of your website. The tests carried out with this tool helps you gain information that you can use to improve your website. When used appropriately, your site can acquire more visitors within a short period. The app also has a fantastic user interface which makes it pretty easy to use.&nbsp;
<h2>Which Web Analytic Tool Records User Responses on Video?</h2>
There exist tools that use video functionalities to gather information for you via your website; these tools include:&nbsp;
1. UserTesting&nbsp;
Well, <a href="https://www.usertesting.com/" target="_self"><ins>UserTesting</ins> </a>is a pretty unique website testing tool. Using this tool, you can gain almost accurate data on visitors-site interaction via video functionality. All you have to do is hire some people to undertake a task on your website, maybe do their shopping. The users are recorded as they carry out their tasks. In less than one hour, you get your feedback. UserTesting lets you get into your visitor's minds, not literally, but in that, you almost know what they are thinking. Hence you can use the feedback gained to improve your website, which in turn will earn you more visitors.&nbsp;
2. MouseFlow&nbsp;
Crazy Egg and UserTesting are two excellent tools. But now, imagine merging their functionalities into one app. That is what MouseFlow is all about. Using MouseFlow, you can: See visitors using your website via video that includes each mouse movement and mouse click they make, keystrokes, and scrolling. View the heat map as per different periods. You can hence track the effects of any alteration made to your website.The tool can be used to test more than one site, which makes it pretty effective. Hence for the ultimate video web analytic tool experience, this is the tool to go for.&nbsp;
<h4>Conclusion</h4>
Websites, when well-managed, can grow your business immensely. Using the website analysis tools provided in this article, you can easily track the website's visitors, gain user details, and much more. Using this information growing your business online and offline becomes pretty easy. Hence, make use of these tools and note the difference.&nbsp;

Smartest Web Analytics Tools For Business Growth

Survey Suggestion Opinion Review Feedback Concept

Product review sites do boost sales. But do you know what are the best consumer product review sites and most reliable ones that you must follow.

Product Review Websites For Online Entrepreneurs/Business Oeners

When dealing with products online, one way to gather important customer feedback is through the product's review. The reviews reveal a lot about the product from the consumer's point of view. Once you, as an Online Marketer, gain access to such information, you can use it to gain more customers for a product. This article will focus on the best consumer product review sites and why reviews are essential in this profession. 

<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10544 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/10/reviews_1.jpg" alt="star rating for online businesses" width="2000" height="1333" /> Customer reviews, feedback, rating, ranking and service concept.

Most people focus on the product reviews left on their websites. However, there are other websites that offer a collection of reviews for different products. From these sites, you can gain information on various products all at the same time and place. You can then use the reviews to boost your products sales within no time, pretty straightforward. But do these sites hold legit reviews? Can the reviews help your organization? We shall answer this and more questions in this article, so follow along.
<h2>Consumer Product Review Sites</h2>
<h3>1. Viewpoints</h3>
Viewpoint is a consumer-based review site. The site deals with reviews on household appliances and goods. A consumer who wishes to make household purchases mostly head on to this site to gather information about the product they want to purchase. Most of the products reviewed on this site include:
<ul>
 	<li>Mattresses </li>
 	<li>Blenders</li>
 	<li>Washing machines </li>
 	<li>Beauty products</li>
</ul>
The list above defines the type of product that you might find reviewed on this site. The list is, however, pretty long.

If you are marketing products that fall under this category, then viewpoint is the perfect review site to head on to.
<h3>2. TestFreaks</h3>
TestFreaks is a pretty massive site. The site has reviews on any product that you can think of. It does not specialize. The site has reviews on:
<ul>
 	<li>Sports equipment</li>
 	<li>Household equipment </li>
 	<li>Electronics </li>
 	<li>Entertainment and so on.</li>
</ul>
The best part about this site is that it contains +100 reviews on each product. That makes the site pretty significant. The site also provides star ratings, with the stars raging from 0 through 5 accordingly.

TestFreak has an average of 30 million reviews on products and also ratings. As an online marketer, these reviews could help you out. Plus, remember that the site is not limited in terms of products, which means that you can access reviews of any product you wish.
<h5><a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/how-to-use-online-business-directory-to-beat-your-competition/">Read Also: How To Use Online Reviews To Beat Your Competition</a></h5>
<h2>Famous Review Sites</h2>
<h3>1. Amazon Customer Reviews</h3>
The Amazon platform has been around for a while now, and they are well known globally. Back in 1995, Amazon launched the first-ever online product review section for their platform. Now consumer could share their experience about the products that they purchased via Amazon. However, since Amazon has been around for a while, this makes them one of the most reliable review sites on the internet. 

<img class="img-fluid alignnone wp-image-10545 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/10/reviews_2.png" alt="amazon customer reviews" width="567" height="298" />

Amazon uses a straightforward rule. If a particular product is their platform, it must go hand in hand with its product review.

On amazon's platform, you can find millions of products, each bearing its independent reviews. Therefore if you are looking to dive into product reviews, then Amazon should be your first option. All you have to do is search for a specific product, even your organization's product, and check on the reviews.

Amazon also offers a star rating functionality for every product available on the site. The stars typically represent the consumer opinion on a specific item. Therefore by just a glimpse, you can tell how good a product is doing on the platform.
<h3>2. Facebook</h3>
You have probably heard about Facebook but from a social media point of view. However, did you know that you can find product reviews on these platforms too! 

The site has an average of 85.57 million users, and that is on a monthly basis. But how does the review functionality of Facebook work?

<img class="img-fluid alignnone wp-image-10546 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/10/reviews_3.png" alt="review on facebook" width="817" height="436" />

Since most users spend a lot of their time scrolling through images and commenting, all producers have to do is post a product. Different people then comment on the image in the comment section. And those are basically the reviews, pretty simple, right? Well, that is why the platform is pretty famous.

So all you have to do is head on to Facebook, look for a posted image, and go through the comment. You will gain a lot of knowledge from those reviews.
<h2>Most Reliable Review Sites</h2>
<h3>1. Angi </h3>
Have you heard of the platform known as Angi? If no then worry not because we have got you. Angi is a high-end website for reviews; it is pretty popular in America. The platform gathers reviews on products of over seven hundred and twenty household-related services. Members of the platforms submit over sixty thousand reviews each month about every organization they employ. 

The best part about the website is that it has ratings that range from A through F. Angi also has different administrators that constantly monitor the reviews to ensure that the reviews are honest and not fake. You can therefore be sure to receive high-end, honest, and solid feedback from this platform.

To access the contents of this website, you require to pay a small fee to become a member of the site. Once in, you gain access to many reviews on different products based on the household section. Even though you might think that the fee is a bit extra, remember that it has an upside too. The fee dictates that whoever reviews products on the site is committed to providing honest and thought-out information. 

Another upside on Angi is that the platform reveals some personal details about the reviewers. Therefore fake reviewers avoid this website at all costs. 

As an online marketer, you can open an Angi account and then encourage your customers to leave reviews about the service or product you offer. With such a vast connected community, more reviews mean that you are more likely to gain more customers within no time.
<h3>2. Quora</h3>
Quora is a pretty massive platform. It has been known to provide a lot of product reviews, making its way into this article. In general, Quora is known to be an internet knowledge market. Quora functions in a question then answer format. That means that it is also pretty reliable as the answers are mostly not forced or fake.

Quora has notable contributors that include politicians, for example, Hillary Clinton and individuals from Silicon Valley.

The viewership of the platform is growing rapidly. Therefore, as an online marketer, you should use this chance to ask questions about your product on the site. Once you ask the right question, you will most probably receive almost immediate feedback from multiple individuals. 

Quora has a free membership offer, but you have to ensure that your content obliges to the site's standards. If your content is excellent and meets all of the site's requirements, you will probably benefit a lot from the site. However, if you post content that does not align with the site's requirement, the chances are that you will be banned from Quora.

Another upside about quora is that you can access other people's question threads about a product. In doing so, you get to learn more about the product without the posting hassle.
<h2>Best Consumer Product Review Sites</h2>
<h3>1. Trustpilot </h3>
Another fantastic platform that offers access to multiple reviews is Trustpilot. The platform provides reviews that are user-generated. Trustpilot Originally functioned in Denmark alone. However, now it functions in sixty-five different markets, which include the United Kingdom. 

So how did this platform grow, and why should you make use of their reviews? 

Trustpilot, like all other platforms featured in this article, strives to:
<ul>
 	<li>Help consumers make informed and more intelligent purchases </li>
 	<li>Help individuals purchase items with confidence </li>
</ul>
Trustpilot believes that people who share ultimately care. Therefore, they offer a platform where individuals can share experiences in a transparent manner, all product-related. 

In Trustpilot, you can ultimately interact with consumers, gain feedback about a product, and share your opinion. In doing so, you learn more about the product you are marketing from the user's point of view. You also get to market your product on the same platform, proactively though.

With a simple <a href="https://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/glossary/email-campaign/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">email campaign,</a> you can encourage multiple reviews on this platform. All you have to do is add on a link that directs people to this site, then leave the rest to them.

Trustpilot also has another added advantage for online marketers. Once your product becomes popular on the site, they provide a separate listing in terms of search results. Therefore once a person searches for a product that you are marketing, your product is displayed first. With this functionality, you can ultimately gain more customers. 
<h3>2. Yelp </h3>
Yelp is another consumer product site that is efficient. The site receives an average of 40.47 million users per month; those are many consumer reviews. 

<img class="img-fluid alignnone wp-image-10547 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/10/reviews_4.png" alt="consumer review on yelp product review site" width="473" height="659" />

Yelp offers a platform whereby a user can easily voice their opinions about a product via published reviews. The reviews are primarily focused on local businesses. Therefore you can gain information on any local product from this website. 

Yelp has over 100 million reviews, and the number keeps on growing each day. Therefore for consumer product reviews, this should be the site to go to. 

Conclusion 

If you want to attract more consumers to your organization's products, then product reviews should be your first go-to place. We hope that the famous review sites discussed in this article will provide you with the information you require.

Product Review Websites for Online Marketers 

Processed with VSCO with hb1 preset

Free Instagram analytics tools has form an essential part of tracking and campaign optimization strategies. Take a closer look at few of them.

Free Instagram Analytics Tools You Should Be Using In 2021

Even though Instagram is still considered somewhat of a new player in the social media industry, particularly when compared to Twitter and Facebook, the platform has seen significant growth in just a decade’s time. From the very first Instagram post, representing a dog close to a local taco stand. The platform has evolved, with<a href="https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/instagram-stats/"> over 40 billion photo posts</a> being shared on the platform every day. There are currently<a href="https://business.instagram.com/"> over one billion people</a> who use their Instagram account on at least one occasion every month. 

Instagram was initially developed as a platform where people can share photos and videos related to their personal life. Today, however, many businesses also utilize the platform as a way to reach their audience more efficiently. 

<img class="img-fluid alignnone wp-image-10527 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/10/insta_2.jpg" alt="free instagram analytics tools business should use " width="2000" height="1333" />

The platform does offer multiple opportunities for businesses and influencers. Failure to properly track Instagram campaigns can result in wasted ad campaign money. It is important to understand how each of your campaigns is doing. This helps you optimize future posts and strategies for better results. 

In this post, we take a closer look at free Instagram analytics tools. These tools should form an essential part of your tracking and campaign optimization strategies. 
<h2>Instagram Insights</h2>
It is important to understand that many people are asking “does Instagram have its own analytics?” - and the answer is yes. When it comes to looking at insights into your own Instagram account, what better way than to utilize the tools already provided by the platform. Many people overlook the fact that Instagram has a built-in analytical platform. This platform can provide you with a range of useful data. This makes it one of the most convenient free Instagram analytics tools. 

The tool does not cost any money. It can be used even if you do not take advantage of the ad platform offered by Instagram. One thing to note, however, is that you will need an Instagram Business account to utilize the insights feature. 

It is free to set up an Instagram Business account. If you currently have a personal account that you wish to use, then simply convert it into a Business account. 

There are several useful features offered by<a href="https://help.instagram.com/1533933820244654"> Instagram Insights</a>. The platform gives you some insight into your current audience, with extensive details on location and other data. This allows you to determine the most important audience you should cater to when setting up campaigns. 

There are a few limitations in terms of Instagram Insights. The platform does not provide as many details as some of the other tools out there. Additionally, you can only use the insights feature from Instagram on a mobile phone. No desktop app or web application is available. Still, for people who are only starting out and want to avoid spending a lot of money on an analytic platform, Instagram Insights remain an excellent point to start with.
<h5>Read Also: <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/instagram-stories-strategy-for-brands/">Instagram Stories Strategy For Brands! Pro Tips</a></h5>
<h3>SocialBakers</h3>
If you are looking to get a scoop on what makes your competitors rank, then SocialBakers might be the tool for you. This particular platform was developed with a primary focus on competitive analysis.

<a href="https://www.socialbakers.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img class="img-fluid alignnone wp-image-10528 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/10/insta_3.png" alt="SocialBakers analytics tool " width="748" height="444" /></a>

 Additionally, this free instagram analytics tools is excellent for people who prefer platforms that offer visual feedback on their statistics and analytical data. You can enter your Instagram profile’s details and then get extensive data on your current account. Additionally, the SocialBakers platform also allows you to determine who your main competitors are. 

The intelligent technology used by SocialBakers also ensures you are able to determine which competitors you can use as a way to gain more insight into the audience you should be targeting. 

While competitive analysis is an important feature offered by SocialBakers, there are other noteworthy functions as well. This includes a view on your own profile, which tells you about the top-performing posts. You can see which posts perform better than others. The tool also helps you identify the hashtags that give your posts a better boost. These are the hashtags you can utilize in future campaigns to help drive more results for every post you publish. 
<h3>Iconosquare</h3>
Iconosquare is a multipurpose tool that you can use to assist with monitoring your performance. The application reports on Instagram campaigns, as well as help you make smarter choices with future posts. One of the key features offered by Iconosquare is its ability to give you access to a social monitoring suite. The three-in-one design of the platform also adds to the benefits you gain when utilizing Iconosquare. 

<a href="https://pro.iconosquare.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img class="img-fluid alignnone wp-image-10529 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/10/insta_4.png" alt="Iconosquare multi purpose tool " width="967" height="523" /></a>

After connecting your Instagram account to Iconosquare, you get access to a calendar view. This is an incredibly useful tool for people who schedule outposts on their Instagram account. The calendar tool not only shows you how each of your posts is doing but also gives you estimations on when the next post will do best. This includes both a date and time. By posting content at the designated time, or scheduling it using an external tool, you are able to maximize the results you gain from your Instagram campaigns. 

Apart from helping you schedule your posts, the platform is also effective for analyzing the current performance of your posts and Instagram storage. You get an overview of your reach, impression count, and engagement on your posts. 

You can get full access to the entire platform for free when signing up for the two-week trial offer. After this, you can still access a number of free tools. This can be helpful if you do not wish to pay a monthly fee. This includes the platform's Instagram Audit function, which helps you get more insight into your account and its current performance. 
<h3>Analisa</h3>
Analisa is another excellent option that provides both free and paid plans. The platform itself was developed with a big focus on influencer marketing. The multipurpose design gives you access to a variety of tools that you can use to maximize the efficacy of your campaigns. The @Account function offered by the Analisa platform is an advanced analytical tool that allows you to get data at both a post and account level. 

<a href="https://analisa.io/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img class="img-fluid alignnone wp-image-10530 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/10/insta_5.png" alt="Analisa free and paid tool for analytics" width="967" height="523" /></a>

By accessing the analytic reports, you can get a view of the total number of posts on your account, along with information on total engagements, views, likes, and comments. The report also goes into detail on each post you have published on your account, while also giving you important information related to the posts that perform the best. 

The Hashtags function on Analisa provides more insight into the best hashtags that you have used. You can also get a good idea of how specific hashtags are working based on engagement, geolocation, and posting activity. You will not only be able to determine which of your current hashtags are performing well but also gain an opportunity to detect new hashtags you can use in the future. 
<h3>Pixlee</h3>
Pixlee is a platform that focuses on providing social reports. The platform has the goal of helping you gain access to functional data. Several large brands utilize Pixlee. This proves its efficiency in delivering data that helps to drive better results with Instagram campaigns. In addition to its ability to connect with your Instagram account, Pixlee also monitors data from other social media platforms. 

<a href="https://www.pixlee.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img class="img-fluid alignnone wp-image-10531 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/10/insta_6.png" alt="Pixlee analytics tool" width="994" height="523" /></a>

One particularly important function that Pixlee offers is the shareable reports. By setting up one of these reports, it is easy to distribute the data amongst large teams. This helps to ensure the right people gain access to critical data that will serve as a driving point behind the campaigns you develop in the future - this may include the technical analysis team, as well as the marketing team. 

Apart from these functions, Pixlee also comes with a built-in Influencer system. This allows you to identify influencers in your industry. These influencers can assist with the promotion of your business products or services. 
<h3>Union Metrics</h3>
Hashtags play a major role in ensuring an Instagram campaign is successful. This is, after all, how new people find your account and engage with your posts. Union Metrics is an excellent platform for people and companies looking to find new hashtags to target. 

<a href="https://unionmetrics.com/free-tools/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img class="img-fluid alignnone wp-image-10532 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/10/insta_.png" alt="Union Metrics analytics tool " width="577" height="530" /></a>

It should be noted that Union Metrics has both free and paid plans, but there are many limitations to the free options. You do get a free checkup on your Instagram every month when you sign up for an account at Union Metrics, even if it is not a paid membership plan. 

The tool provides analytical data for the last 30 days. This is a great option for people who are looking to get a shorter-term view of their account performance. When it comes to setting up campaigns that are relevant to a current occasion, the short term data can prove useful. 

Conclusion

Instagram is an important platform for businesses who want to showcase their products or even offer customers an inside view of the company itself. By learning how to use analytics on Instagram, you gain access to a range of analytical data reports that can be useful when optimizing future campaigns. We look at some of the best free Instagram analytics tools to help you get started without additional investments. It is generally a good idea to keep track through multiple tools. Some people are asking “can Google Analytics track Instagram?”. Unfortunately, this would pose multiple limitations. Use Instagram’s built-in tool, along with external tools. This helps you collect the data you need to optimize your campaigns.

Portrait of happy young brunette woman in apron standing with crossed arms in bakery shop owned by her father

Young woman helping her father in bakery business

Turn your love of baking into a profitable business by learning how to start a bakery business from home in UK? This step-by-step guide covers all you need.

How To Start A Bakery Business From Home in the UK?

Do you wish to start a home-based bakery business? Then, you’re making a fantastic choice! The home baking business market has continued to thrive, <a href="https://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/knowledge/hospitality/great-british-bake-off-and-home-baking-businesses-on-the-rise/" target="_self">with growth rates soaring annually</a>.&nbsp;
Whether you’re looking to turn a hobby into a lucrative career or capitalize on the increasing demand for artisanal baked goods, starting a home bakery can be a fulfilling venture. However, transforming your home bakery dream into a successful business requires careful planning, investment, and time. &nbsp;
Here are updated tips to help you navigate the journey:&nbsp;
<h2>How to Start a Bakery Business from Home in 2025?&nbsp;</h2>
<h2>1. Register as Self Employed </h2>
Before starting a home bakery, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/log-in-file-self-assessment-tax-return/register-if-youre-self-employed" target="_blank">register with HMRC</a> because you are running the business yourself. This way, the HMRC will know that you will pay tax via the Self-Assessment system. Register as self-employed, even if baking is your past-time activity, side hustle, or you have another job. Keep in mind, every sole trader or self-employed individual must report their earnings, income tax and donate toward National Insurance. Visit GOV.UK to register and confirm your account as well as specifics of your pastry shop London. Failure to do that, you might get fined.
<h2>2. Follow legal requirements in the UK </h2>
The main regulatory issue the <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/directory/categories/bakery" target="_self">best bakery in UK</a> has to put up with is food hygiene and safety. Operating a home bakery in the UK involves adhering to food hygiene and safety regulations.The main requirements include:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Food Hygiene Certification: Complete food hygiene training and keep it up to date. Online courses are widely available.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Allergen Management: Clearly label allergens and maintaindocumentation to comply with Food Standards Agency (FSA) rules.&nbsp;</li>
<li>HACCP Plan: You might also have to look at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/food-safety-hazard-analysis" target="_blank">hazard analysis and critical control points</a> (HACCP) it’s a requirement for every food business. Having a HACCP means that your food is safe from chemical, physical and biological safety hazards.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Do not overlook the rules and regulations set by the Food Standards Agency. The agency has established <a href="https://www.food.gov.uk/enforcement" target="_blank">clear guidelines</a> about ingredient safety, labelling, and health claims.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Register Your Business: You must register with your local authority’s environmental health service. Do this at least 28 days before opening or after you start the bakery.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/09/b2.jpg" alt="" style="height: ;width: "/>
Bakery production with old handmade system &nbsp;
What’s even better, bakery business registration is free, and it can’t be declined. The registration process takes a few minutes. The food law requires individuals supplying food to register, whether they’re selling the food or giving it out for free. You can easily register your bakery business via the government’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/food-business-registration" target="_blank">food business registration</a> website. The local environmental health officers will always examine your food preparation area. So, it’s wise to always keep your premises clean and in good condition. Follow good hygiene practices, such as pest control and protecting food from contamination. But remember, your fresh bakery London will not get measured by the same code as that of larger restaurants or hotels.&nbsp;
<h2>3. Get Insurance for Your Home Baking Business</h2>
Like any other business, insurance is important. A bakery requires both public and product liability insurance. Insurance companies usually sell these two together. They protect business owners in case they get sued for food-related damage or illness. Or if they accidentally damage the client’s property when fulfilling an order. Additionally, home bakery business owners should get tools and stock insurance. If they have employed workers, they should get employers’ liability insurance.
<h3>4. Get the Landlord’s or Mortgage Lender Permission</h3>
If you wish to start a baking business at a rented property, ensure you have the permission of the property manager or landlord. According to law, tenants may work from rental properties, as long as the property stays a residence above all. Also, the landlord has to allow the property to be used for the business. However, the property manager can’t delay or unreasonably reserve their permission. But if the business operations might cause excessive wear or tear to the property or nuisance to neighbours, the landlord might withhold their permission. If you are a homeowner, get permission from your mortgage lender first before proceeding.
<h2>5. Differentiate Your Bakery&nbsp;</h2>
If you’re venturing into the baking industry, remember that you’ll be competing with well-established businesses. So, if you want to succeed at it, you must make your business unique. Offer something different from your competitors.&nbsp;
<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/09/b3.jpg" alt="fresh puff pastry at bakery in uk " style="height: ;width: "/>
<h2>6. Build a Robust Online Presence&nbsp;</h2>
In today’s world, people live online. They receive news, bank, and even shop online. So, it makes sense for businesses to have an online presence because that’s where customers are. Having an online presence will allow you to get the word out to a larger crowd, so prospects can find you and end up buying your products. Build a simple and informative website, which contains details of your location, your offerings, and how to contact you. See what your competitors are doing and up the game. Use quality photos and have video testimonies so you can bring in more customers. Apart from that, open a social media account to advertise your bakery business, whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Take advantage of targeted paid social media to boost the views of your ads. Alternatively, you can start a YouTube channel and create tutorials and baking tips. &nbsp;
<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/09/b6.jpg" alt="bakery owners taking picture for their social media " style="height: ;width: "/>
<h2>7. Track Finances and Inventory&nbsp;</h2>
Being self-employed means you’re responsible for tracking income and expenses for business management and tax purposes. Therefore, ensure you keep all your financial documents, particularly receipts, since HMRC might require them to verify your business expenditure when you’re filing taxes. However, tracking income and expenses for a bakery business is no simple task, especially if you don’t have the right tools. Thankfully, there is a good deal of accounting software in the market that can help keep track of your business finances.
<h2>8. Market Your Business</h2>
People will only know about the wonderful products you bake at home when you adopt various marketing strategies. You can develop content for your website and use SEO to rank organically on google. Alternatively, you can pay for google ads, YouTube ads, and Facebook ads to reach a wider audience within your delivery zones. Email marketing is still a very effective marketing technique for business. Ask your customers to provide you with their email and include a page on your website where people can sign up for your newsletter. Adopt various marketing strategies and see your revenue grow exponentially. Put up flyers in wedding dress shops or wedding planning agencies, or local wedding venues to get more people interested in your business.
<h2>How Much Does It Cost to Start a Bakery in the UK?</h2>
We can’t say for sure how much money you might require to establish your bakery business. It all depends on how ambitious your plans are and other factors, such as size and location. Keep in mind, the startup costs of a brick and motor bakery shop will vary from a home-based bakery. Besides the venue and type of baking business, there are other costs you will incur once the business is up and running. These include:
<h3>Location and Space</h3>
Location and space are perhaps two of the key factors that determine the success of the business. The venue can seriously influence the cost of launching your bakery business. If it’s a brick-and-mortar store, it might cost you a lot of money when you set it up in a place with lots of traffic. Let’s not forget the leasing cost that can run from £400 to £1,500. For a home-based bakery, you might have to invest in renovations to create enough space to support your baking activities.
<h3>Licenses and Legalities</h3>
It’s already clear you can’t start a food business in the UK without a license. Those opening a bakery in a bring a mortar bakery might even have to apply a change of use class if the store was previously used for something else. The cost usually ranges between £500 to £1000.
<h3>Inventory</h3>
Bakery owners must manage their inventory if they want to maintain healthy business finances. Although they can manage their inventory in several ways, the best way is via online inventory management software. Investing in this software is the best way to track and edit customer orders, ingredients inventory, and much more.
<h3>Equipment</h3>
In a bakery, the magic happens in the kitchen. Therefore, business owners can’t really afford to economize on this part. The amount of money you’ll spend on equipment depends on the scale of your business and the different food products you’ll produce in a day. Bakery essentials include oven, mixer, fridge, worktable, and industrial baking equipment. The cost can reach £3000 or even higher.
<h2>Final Thoughts</h2>
If you’re looking for a small business that you can successfully run on a lean budget right from home, a bakery will suit you better. The best thing about a bakery business is that it allows you to express your creativeness through your work. Also, there’s a never-ending market for deliciously baked cupcakes and other wheat-baked snacks. You can sell your product locally or to a large market online, and you don’t have to invest that much to get it up and running. All you need is to register your business and purchase the essential baking equipment, supplies, and ingredients. The only catch is must you must prepare to handle more than half of the bakery roles.

How To Start a Bakery Business from Home in the UK?

To help you plan Instagram stories strategy for brands, we've compiled a list of pro tips from content to design to master this feature of the app.

Instagram Stories Strategy For Brands! Pro Tips By RateUsOnline

Instagram Stories Strategy For Brands! Pro Tips

business, people and technology concept - businessman typing on laptop at office

businessman typing on laptop at office

Learn how to start a blog for business and how does small business blogs benefits business in converting blog readers to qualified leads.

Can Small Business Blogs Drive Leads ? Learn How ?

How do I start a blog for my business? How does a blog benefit a small business? These are some of the questions many small business owners are asking. Small business blogs are increasingly becoming popular among companies and businesses, as it is one of the best lead generation techniques. Blogging is highly beneficial to many businesses, and a business can become an authority and a resource in their industry by posting valuable content on their blog consistently. 

With such authority, converting your readers into valuable customers would no longer be an issue. To achieve this, you need to capture your readers, call them to action, and convert your blog traffic to sales. Data shows that businesses that use blogging as part of their marketing strategy generate 67% <a href="https://www.techclient.com/blogging-statistics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">more leads</a> than those that do not. 

Hence, you should consider adopting this marketing strategy and create a better customer network and boost your business. For those with small business blogs that are performing poorly in terms of generating leads, chances are there are one or two things you are not doing correctly. In this guide, we will be highlighting why blogging is important for your business and how small business blogs can generate more leads and increase sales. 
<h2>Why Blogging Is Important For Your Business</h2>
If you are a new business owner, you have many tasks to complete each day. Whether it is fulfilling orders, calling prospective clients, or working on making sure your product and services are good. The last thing you are thinking of doing is writing a blog for your business. You will probably be thinking, how does a blog benefit a small business?

For a small business, blogging does more than just allowing your audience to know about the events and news of the company. When you do it the right way, you can become an authority in your field, showcase your workplace culture, and increase your search engine optimization. When you provide your audience with relevant and educative posts about your services or products, you will become the go-to resource in your customer’s time of need. 

<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10401 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/09/blogging.jpg" alt="blogger working on his laptop for his business website" width="2000" height="1334" /> Businessman working in a modern office.

Posting more valuable content on your blog will also increase your search engine ranking, making your business easier to find and attracting more customers to you. According to statistics, businesses that use blogs get 97% more links to their website.

Your blog posts can also serve as answers to some of the questions your customers might have. In all, the major benefit of blogging for businesses is to drive more traffic to their site. With this, businesses would be able to advertise their products and services and boost sales.
<h5>Read Also: <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/business-trends-in-technology-networking-and-marketing-in-2021/">Business Trends In Technology, Networking And Marketing in 2021 </a></h5>
<h2>How Do I Start A Blog For My Business</h2>
Now that you know the importance of a blog to your business, you might be wondering how you can start a blog for your business. Starting a blog is not as difficult as most people deem it to be. You can either <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/business-website/">outsource it to a professional web developer </a>or go through the process yourself. Here are some tips for starting a blog for your business:
<h5>Read Also: <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/digital-marketing-agency-for-small-businesses-should-be-outsourced/">Digital Marketing Agency For Small Businesses Should Be Outsourced ?</a></h5>
<h3>1. Choose the Blogging Platform</h3>
When starting a blog for your business, the first thing you need to do is to choose the platform. Choosing the right platform is very important, as it would make it easier for you to run the blog. There are many content management systems out there that you can use to create your blog, but the easiest and most popular is <a href="http://www.wordpress.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WordPress</a>. You do not need to be tech-savvy to use this version of WordPress. 
<h3>2. Choose Your Theme</h3>
After creating your account, the next thing you need to do is to choose your WordPress theme. There are many WordPress themes that you can choose from, both paid and free themes. When choosing a theme, you want to make sure it is customizable, provides a level of support forum or customer support, and is responsive. The theme should display properly on different types of devices, including mobile, tablets, and desktops. 
<h3>3. Domain Name Registration and Web Hosting Purchase</h3>
You also have to choose a domain name after choosing the platform you want to use. The domain of your blog will be the URL that people can use to access it, such as <a href="http://www.yourbusinessblog.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.yourbusinessblog.com</a>. You can buy a domain name on <a href="http://www.godaddy.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">GoDaddy</a>, Bluehost, or any other domain registrar. 

After buying the domain name, you would also have to purchase web hosting. While you can create your business blog free of charge on WordPress, you would still have to pay for web hosting for your blog to be hosted. Some domain registrars also offer web hosting, such as <a href="http://www.bluehost.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bluehost</a>.

After that, your website will be up and running. The next thing you would need to focus on is how to run your blog. 
<h2>How To Run A Small Business Blog To Drive More Leads</h2>
<h3>1. Use Call-to-Action in Your Content</h3>
One of the easiest and simplest ways of converting your blog traffic into leads is using a call-to-action (CTA). A call-to-action is an offer that includes relevant content for your audience. CTAs have proven to be one of the most effective lead generation tools over the years. A CTA can be a link to a webinar, an eBook, a free assessment sheet, a social media page, and more. It can also be just a link that allows your audience to share your page via email, social media platforms, and more. 

The major purpose of using a CTA is to get your audience to take relevant action such as installing an app, signing up for a newsletter, reading another content on your blog, subscribing to a channel, downloading a file, contacting you, and more. All these actions can help to boost your contact base significantly, making it easy for you to reach a wider audience when you have new updates, products, services, or anything they have shown interest in. 

Many small business blogs often put up blog posts without compelling call-to-action buttons, and this can make them lose customers. When running a business blog, your focus should be beyond customer engagement and awareness. Your goal should be to generate leads, which would, in return, boost sales. This is why blogging is important for your business

However, you should avoid adding irrelevant CTAs to your content. The call-to-action should be relevant to the context of the blog post. You should also consider adding several call-to-action buttons on different parts of the website so it would be almost impossible for your audience to miss them. When doing that, you should avoid crowding the web page with CTAs. Some of the best places to add CTAs include the top of the page, sidebar, bottom, floating pop-up, full-screen overlay, and in between the post. 
<h3>2. Offer Your Audience Exclusive Content</h3>
One of the best ways every business blog can drive leads for their business is to provide their audience with exclusive content. Providing your audience with some free knowledge about certain things or tips on how to enhance their business is good. However, it is also good to hold back some of those important and useful tips for those that are willing to exchange something for additional information. 

Tease your audience with exclusive content that would be more useful, beneficial, and relevant to them than the free content you are already providing them. For this to work, you need to provide your audience with valuable content regularly, but your exclusive content should dive deeper into the topic and provide more insight. The exclusive content can be a complete breakdown of the free content you offer. 
<h3>3. Blog Consistently</h3>
Blogging consistently is another vital thing that will help you to generate more leads. You should be consistent in your posts. Posting five blog posts in a week and not posting any for the next three months is very bad for business. You should create a schedule, more like a blogging streak. 

<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10402 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/09/blogging2.jpg" alt="young woman publishing blog for his small business website" width="2000" height="1333" /> Lady working on laptop in the room

According to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnrampton/2016/03/23/a-guide-to-how-often-and-when-to-post-content/#5904012c7cd4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">studies</a>, posting 16 times every month or 4 times a week is a great way of running a blog. Businesses that post a minimum of 16 blog articles every month get about <a href="https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/blogging-frequency-benchmarks?_ga=2.185270569.1881941825.1496804304-1189551030.1496019620#sm.0001re5gzh11zndgxthhwxcsmm91z" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">3.5x more traffic</a> than those that publish less than four every month. 

This does not mean you should dedicate all your time to writing blog posts about your business. Your major focus is to run your small business and not to write about it. However, it would benefit you more when you dedicate some time to creating relevant content for your business and be consistent about it. You can also outsource this part of the job to a professional or an employee. 

Your blog should always have fresh content, as this would help you to attract new customers and increase the revisits of your existing customers. 
<h3>4. Guest Blog On Other Blogs</h3>
There is a popular adage that says, “No man is an island,” and that is true for many businesses today. We all need others to succeed in most aspects of our lives, and most businesses need other businesses to flourish as well. You should write as a guest blogger in other business niches or industry-related blogs, as this would make you an authority in your field. 

When you write guest articles for authoritative blogs, you are portraying yourself as a professional in your industry. This would change how people see you. They will trust you, as well as your services and products. This would also drive more traffic to your website, which you can easily convert to leads and boost your sales. 

<div id="attachment_10403" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10403 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/09/blogging1.jpg" alt="girl working on blogging ideas" width="2000" height="1333" /> woman using laptop and writing a blog</div>

Guest blogging has proven to be very helpful, and you can use it to increase the awareness of your products, services, and brand. The guest blog post should have links to different posts or pages on your website. It would also help to enhance your SEO rankings, which is something every business needs. 

When writing guest posts, you should choose the right website, a relevant topic, make the content engaging and relevant, promote your content, create backlinks to your site, and more. 
<h3>5. Multiple Landing Pages</h3>
Landing pages have contributed significantly to the growth of many businesses across the globe. Businesses use them as part of their marketing tools to generate leads and increase sales. Small businesses can also benefit from this great tool. You can drive leads for your business by having multiple landing pages. 

With the help of highly targeted, well-optimized landing pages, you would be able to increase your contact base and boost your sales. Studies have shown that businesses with a minimum of 30 landing pages get <a href="https://khrisdigital.com/sales-funnel-statistics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">7 times more leads</a> than those that do not have. 

If you want to fully harness this tool and generate more leads from it, you need to make sure that all the landing pages you create contain the relevant CTA, provides specific information about your business, brand, product, or service, and they are all optimized for different types of devices. Today, most people surf the web with their mobile devices. Hence, you want to make sure your website, as well as all your landing pages, are optimized for smartphones and other types of devices including tablets and PCs. 

Using multiple landing pages would allow you to showcase specific products or services you offer as well as different aspects of your business. The landing pages should contain the appropriate CTAs to direct your readers to take the right actions including purchasing a product, registering for an event, making a phone call, subscribing to an email list or newsletter, and more. 

Conclusion

When done right, small business blogs can be a great marketing tool. You can use them to generate leads, which would, in return, increase sales. With the tips provided in this guide, driving leads for your business with your blog should no longer be an issue.

How Can Business Blogs Drive Leads For Your Businesses?

Closeup hand officer typing record customer data in computer CRM software. People call center working in office  for hotline or telephone support.

Crm2

Staying in touch with happy customers while keeping tabs on staff is not easy. Here are the best CRM software for small business in UK.

Best CRM Software For Small Business UK - RateUsOnline

Small businesses might seem easy to manage, but that’s not usually the case. Sometimes they come with endless workloads that can leave you overwhelmed. Staying in touch with happy customers while keeping tabs on your staff and ensuring they agree is not so easy. That’s where the best CRM software for small business UK comes in.

A customer relationship management (CRM) system can re-organize and simplify your customer service team management efforts, and customize your marketing strategies for improved results.

CRM systems UK act as a hub for the following:
<ul>
 	<li>Assigning projects to staff</li>
 	<li>Monitoring multiples sale pipelines</li>
 	<li>Storing contact details</li>
 	<li>Evaluating the performance of marketing and sales activities</li>
</ul>
The systems allow users access to business deals, leads, and customer information anywhere, anytime.

Despite all its benefits, finding the right CRM for your business is no walk in the pack. There’s an endless list of best CRM software for small business UK, each with distinct features. This means you have to spend hours researching each software before finding the one that can meet your business needs.

To save you the hustle, here we’ve reviewed the seven best CRM software in the industry. Without further delay, let’s dive in!
<h2>7 Best CRM Software for Small Business UK-wide</h2>
<h3>1. Freshworks CRM</h3>
Freshworks CRM is perhaps the best free CRM software for small businesses in the UK. Its smooth interface offers users a refreshing approach to small and medium business management.

<img class="img-fluid alignnone wp-image-10380 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/09/Crm3.jpg" alt="free crm software for small business uk" width="2000" height="1329" />

It’s the perfect solution for sales professionals. Through the software, they can capture data generated by incoming and outgoing messages and calls. They can also generate email templates and send bulk emails to prospects.

The in-build AI tool, Freddy, comes in handy in identifying and suggesting which deals to close and how. You only have to provide it with enough historical data to work with.

In addition, the CRM features an in-built phone option, including call recording, conference, and call transfer. You can also make calls directly from the Freshworks sales page via a widget.

The only downside is, Freshworks has limited lead generation tools. To make up for that, the CRM features customizable web forms. The web forms can capture prospects’ details from the business site and automatically assigning sales leads.
<h3>2. HubSpot</h3>
HubSpot customer relationship management software was designed to streamline customer and client engagement. It’s the best CRM for those businesses that desire effective reporting tools and business performance insights.

<img class="img-fluid alignnone wp-image-10384 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/09/hubspot.png" alt="HubSpot one of the best crm software for small business uk" width="1093" height="630" />

HubSpot CRM free model offers users few HubSpot’s marketing features and tools required to track customer and prospect interaction. Other tools included in the free plan are:
<ul>
 	<li>Marketing tools such as email templates and website messenger</li>
 	<li>Ticketing system</li>
 	<li>Contact tracking</li>
</ul>
Paid users can purchase one or more of the five HubSpot’s hubs. The hubs include marketing, service, CMS, operations, and sales.

Operations is the most recent hub. It allows businesses to connect with third-party tools and automate business projects. It can also sync and clean customer details. As you can see, each hub offers a CRM which focuses on a specific area.

According to CRM software reviews, HubSpot’s free solution meets the needs of many small businesses. However, it won’t hurt to check out the basic paid plan. It provides users access to a meeting scheduler, automation tools, and other CRM features.
<h3>3. Zoho CRM</h3>
Zoho CRM is an easy-to-use CRM that’s well priced and comes with the best sales, marketing, and customer service features. It’s among the very best sales and management CRM systems for small and medium businesses.

This cloud-based CRM uses process management, customization, and analytics. As a result, business owners can track leads, contacts, accounts, and sales. It supports the integration of third-party apps and collaborative tools, such as Microsoft 365, QuickBooks, Slack, and Google Workspace.

What’s even better, the CRM system can scrape data from social media platforms and scan business cards. Therefore, it’s a powerful lead generation software.

There are seven Zoho CRM plans, one free and the others paid. The free model offers businesses essential sales management tools for accounts, leads, and workflows. You can use the basic email template to implement website forms to collect new prospects. Plus, to streamline communication.

The paid solutions include Standard, Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate. The other two plans are Bigin by Zoho CRM and Zoho CRM Plus.

Bigin by Zoho is a pipeline-centric CRM for small businesses. While Zoho CRM Plus bundles Zoho products together and delivers a unified customer experience.
<h3>4. Keap</h3>
If your startup needs an effective yet easy-to-maintain CRM, Keap CRM is your best bet. Its sale and marketing CRM system supporting the integration of over 2,500 popular business applications. The applications include WordPress, Instapage, Zapier, AdEspresso, and others.

The CRM is ideal for tech-wary people who love a simpler interface and customizable functionalities. Keap CRM features pre-build reminders, automated emails, and texts to save you time when following up with leads and clients.

Keap allows users to close more leads consistently and automate repetitive marketing tasks. The best part is, its migration team often helps business owners transfer their organization’s data from other CRM to Keap at no cost.

Recently the company released an additional feature; Automated Text Message Marketing. It helps users reach their target prospects and clients effectively.

Once you sign up with Keap, you’ll receive a 14-day free trial. After that, you will need to upgrade to leverage the many features offer by the CRM. The features include reporting tool, a customizable dashboard, and an automated sales pipeline.
<h3>5. Zendesk Sell</h3>
Zendesk is a versatile, robust cloud-based platform providing small business owners with a host of useful CRM tools. In fact, the company was listed as a leader in this year’s <a href="https://www.zendesk.co.uk/blog/gartner-magic-quadrant-crm/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gartner Magic Quadrant Customer Engagement Center</a>.

For a monthly fee of just £5 per user, Zendesk will provide you with the best CRM practices and high-quality help and support in the market. The platform focuses on usability, ensuring all team members understand how to use the systems’ tools.

Zendesk is easy to use and flexible. Also, it hosts several powerful features and supports the integration of third-party applications. You can customize the system to match any workflow and offer quality tools for recruiting customers and keeping them happy.

Other interesting features of Zendesk CRM include:
<ul>
 	<li>Email Automation</li>
 	<li>Lead tracking</li>
 	<li>Customer Analytics</li>
 	<li>Forecasting</li>
 	<li>Mobile user support</li>
 	<li>360-degree feedback</li>
</ul>
Zendesk might lack marketing functionality, but it offers users sales and sales team capabilities. Additionally, it has exceptional customer support.
<h3>6. Salesforce</h3>
Salesforce is the world’s most renowned CRM provider. It’s the perfect CRM for medium-sized and enterprise businesses, but start ups can also use it.

<img class="img-fluid alignnone wp-image-10385 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/09/Salesforce.png" alt="salesforce crm tool" width="853" height="524" />

Salesforce CRM is advance, customizable, and features a user-friendly design. Although it’s packed with features and integrations, its simple interface makes it easy for anyone to use it. However, if you want to gain access to marketing automation, you might need to spend about £1,000 every month.

Salesforce Sales Cloud can work with Einstein Analytics for AI-powered business research. It also works with marketing Cloud for email automation.

Apart from that, small business owners will love the CRM management features. The features allow tracking of deals from leads to completion. The dashboard and reports are customizable and get updated automatically in real-time. This way, the sales team can access current data.

You can upgrade your plan to enjoy advanced functionality, such as collaborative forecasting and automatic lead scoring.

That said, Salesforce CRM is intuitive and will help you get your lead over the line. You can also customize the CRM’s interface from reports to dashboards to meet your team’s needs.
<h3>7. Insightly</h3>
Founded in 2009, Insightly provides CRM service to over 1.5 million users and 25,000 companies. Most businesses select Insightly for its intuitive interface and the ability to manage complex sales pipelines.

<img class="img-fluid alignnone wp-image-10381 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/09/Crm1.jpg" alt="Insightly crm" width="2000" height="1256" />

Its organized features and built-in workflow automation allow businesses to communicate with customers and keep them happy. The CRM also supports the integration of Microsoft and Google apps, as well as other third-party products.

Another thing, Insightly supports Microsoft Power BI. This means users can generate customized reports and dashboards to measure and plan their sales productivity hassle-free.

The CRM automates workflows, allowing businesses to save time and re-direct their team’s effort to nurturing relationships.

Insightly CRM comes with extensive customer support, phone support, and community forums to help newbies familiarize themselves with Insightly tools. Furthermore, when using its Professional and Enterprise plans, you can pay for support and professional services.

However, this CRM system is not ideal for businesses with extensive support needs or those who wish to track calls.
<h4>Final Thoughts</h4>
Small businesses require a CRM to manage and monitor relationships with their customers and prospects. CRM boosts the growth of businesses by streamlining workflows and improving customer connections.

These CRM systems are the best in the market and come with exceptional features, intuitive interface, and support options. If you’re after a free but best CRM software for small business UK, check out Freshworks CRM or Zendesk. They’re well priced and allow the integration of third-party products.

With that in mind, we hope this guide will help you make an informed decision. Thank you for stopping by, and best of luck!

Best CRM Software for Small Businesses in the UK

Spa salon

Spa business is one of the most lucrative businesses in the UK. Here are some quick pro tips to make sure you're expanding in the right way locally in UK.

How To Grow Spa Business Locally In The UK ? Learn Pro Tips With Ease!

The spa or beauty salon is one of the most lucrative businesses in the UK. The wellness and spa industry is highly profitable and is worth over 8 billion pounds. The spa industry is growing at an enormous pace, and it was <a href="https://blog.marketresearch.com/the-growth-of-the-global-spa-industry" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">projected</a> to grow by 5.66 % by 2022. 

The spa has served as a place of relaxation for many over the decades. People usually go to places that let them unwind from the stress and struggles of everyday life. If you are running a spa business, you need to learn how to make your spa more welcoming and relaxing. People should be able to come to your spa and feel much better and different from working harder all day. 

<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10365 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/09/spa2.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333" /> Beauty and healthcare. Woman in spa salon

Growing a spa business is not that easy, especially due to the competition out there and the high standard of the industry. However, when you know the right things to do and how to do them, taking your spa business to the next level should no longer be an issue. Many people search for “<a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/directory/categories/spa">spa business near me</a> or the best day spa near me” and you need to have what it takes for your spa business to appear on those search results. 

In this article, we will be sharing some vital tips on how you can grow your spa business locally in the UK. These tips will help you attract more customers and increase your profit margin. 
<h2>Tips to Help Grow Your Spa Business In UK</h2>
<h3>1. Create a Professional Website or Update Your Existing One</h3>
To grow your spa business, you should <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/business-website/">start by creating a professional website</a> or updating the one you already have. The world has gone digital, and many people surf the web for almost anything they are looking for. Most people prefer to do their findings online instead of going there in person. For such potential customers, the website of your business will be the first impression they will have of you. If you do not want that to be the last impression, then you need to make sure that your website is up to date. 

The website should be well-designed, and everything should be in place. It has to be mobile-friendly, and the design should not be complicated. You should also make sure that the phone number, address, and email address of your business are boldly written on the website. They should be in a place where your potential customers will not have to look for them.

The site should also be well-optimized to load very fast, as it takes less than 0.5 seconds for users to decide whether to remain on your website or leave. Another thing that could drive away your potential client is an outdated website. Many websites are still stuck in the 90s, which is bad for business. Your spa’s website should have a quality and standard design. 

There are many great tools out there that you can use to design a professional website for your business. Some popular options include Wix, WordPress, Weebly, Shopify, and more. If you are not tech-savvy, you can outsource this process to a professional web developer. After creating the site, you want to make sure your contents are SEO-friendly and well-optimized so that it can make top results when people search for “spa breaks near me,” “day spa near me,” or “how much is a spa day near me.”
<h3>2. Get Your Business on Google Map</h3>
Thanks to Google, it is now very easy and convenient to locate many businesses online. In addition to having a professional website, you need to <a href="https://www.google.com/business/">create a My Business Account on Google</a>. When customers are searching for “the best day spa near me,” the first place they go to is Google. With this business account, your business will be showing up on local searches for clients in your area. 

This way, if a client searches for “spa business near me,” your spa business will show up on the Google map. With Google Business, customers would be able to find and know more about your spa business without spending a lot of time searching for it. It will provide customers easy access to your contact information, images, reviews, and more. The beautiful part of this is that you can create a Google Business Account free of charge. It is also free to manage. All you have to do is to fill the sign-up form to get started.
<h3>3. Your Spa Booking Methods Should Be Convenient and Easy</h3>
People are coming to your spa center to chill, relax, and take a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. As such, the last thing they want is to go through another form of stress while booking a spa session. To attract more customers and make them come back to your spa center, you should make your booking methods as easy as possible. The easier the process, the more bookings you will get. 

<img class="img-fluid alignnone wp-image-10366 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/09/spa1.jpg" alt="woman using credit card for booking her spa day near her " width="2000" height="1333" />

The easiest method so far is online booking. You should design your website in a way that allows people to book their spa sessions online without stress. If online bookings are not part of your spa marketing plan, you are losing a lot of money and customers. With an online booking system, customers would be able to book their spa sessions from the convenience of their homes, offices, and more. 

Booking via phone calls is also old-fashioned, as you cannot attend to many customers at the same time. You can use a spa business management tool to set up your online booking system to make your business more convenient and easily accessible to your customers. 
<h3>4. Provide Your Team with Branded Business Cards</h3>
Another great way to grow your spa business locally is to give your employees free <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/eshachhabra/2017/07/27/how-a-business-card-can-make-a-difference-and-start-a-conversation/?sh=1129e4f41c97">branded business cards</a>. A team business card means that your staff can promote and represent your business whenever and wherever they are. Business cards have been around for a long time, and they are still relevant and useful today. 

Fortunately, creating a business card is no longer as difficult or expensive as it used to be. There are many online tools that you can use to create very attractive business cards. Many people now create business cards without the help of graphic designers, thanks to tools such as Canva. This tool offers a wide variety of business card templates that you can use for your spa business. 
<h3>5. Social Media Marketing</h3>
Social media marketing has been and is still one of the <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/how-to-reinvent-your-business-through-social-media-marketing/">biggest marketing strategies</a> ever. Many social media networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat offer free usage, as you can access them free of charge. These are great platforms to market your spa business if you want to grow. 

You can post great content about your spa business including images related to your business. If you have taken some nice pictures of your best jobs, you can post them online for people to see. People will be attracted to your amazing work and would want to patronize you. Instagram is one of the best tools you have if you want to grow your spa business. Make videos of your spa sessions and post them on your spa’s account. 
<h3>6. Offer Holiday Discounts and Special Offers</h3>
One of the most effective marketing strategies over the years is offering customers discounts. People love discounts, as everyone likes to save a few bucks on any item they purchase. Stores that offer coupons or discounts tend to get more customers than those that do not. You can also adopt this marketing strategy and use it in your spa business. 

The holidays are when many people have the time to get away from work to find a great relaxation spot. When you offer special or holiday discounts in this period, you will attract more customers to your spa than you would imagine. The holiday period is when people like to spend more, and they also have enough time for just about anything. 

Some of the best holidays to offer such discounts include:
<ul>
 	<li>Father’s Day</li>
 	<li>Mother’s Day</li>
 	<li>Christmas</li>
 	<li>Easter</li>
 	<li>Wedding and prom season</li>
 	<li>St. Patrick’s Day</li>
 	<li>Valentine’s Day</li>
</ul>
<h3>7. Partner with Other Businesses</h3>
Partnering with other local or surrounding businesses can help to promote your spa business and increase your bookings. When you collaborate with other businesses, you are paving the way for future projects and networking such as deals, product bundles, discounts, and more, and these can increase your booking. 

Some of the businesses or brands you can partner with include:
<ul>
 	<li>Brands or businesses that sell spa products. They can always refer customers that need spa services to you. </li>
 	<li>Gyms and yoga instructors. They can serve as brand ambassadors. </li>
 	<li>Barbershop and hair salon. </li>
 	<li>Event planners and magazines. You can pay to promote your business or offer them a free spa day to boost the exposure of your brand. </li>
</ul>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
It takes a lot to grow any business in any industry. The spa industry is a very competitive one, and you need to be providing the best quality of services for you to stand out. With the tips provided in this article, growing your spa business locally should no longer be an issue.

How To Grow Spa Business Locally In The UK

Digital Marketing. Unrecognizable African Man Working On Laptop Promoting His Online Business Sitting In Cafe Outdoors. E-Commerce And Web Content Promotion. Panorama, Collage With Text

African Man Working On Laptop In Cafe, Digital Marketing Collage

Digital marketing agency for small businesses do their best to show they are the most appropriate provider for your business. But is it worth giving a try ?

Digital Marketing Agency For Small Businesses, Should Be Outsourced?

In the past, an employee could handle marketing and other business responsibilities with ease. But over the years, digital marketing has evolved into a complex system with several distinct aspects, each requiring special attention.

Today, it’s hard for non-marketers to keep up with this ever-evolving form of marketing. For this reason, many small businesses are choosing to outsource to digital marketing agencies. In fact, in 2018 alone, the outsourcing industry amounted to $85.6 billion, out of which the IT sector provided over 62 billion.

If you’re reading this article because you’re thinking of outsourcing your digital marketing task, you’ve come to the right place. When you decide to outsource your tasks to a digital marketing agency for small businesses, you’ll enjoy several perks.

Here, we’ve provided you with a list of the benefits you will gain when outsourcing your marketing efforts. But first, let’s look at some benefits of digital marketing.
<h2>Benefits of Digital Marketing</h2>
Most small businesses engage in digital marketing since it presents them with a cost-effective way to reach a larger audience. 

<div id="attachment_10252" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10252 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/07/market1.jpg" alt="digital marketing agency for small business uk comparing data " width="2000" height="1333" /> marketing manager</div>

In today’s world, many people spend most of their time online. And the best way marketers can reach these individuals is through digital marketing.

The Benefits Of Digital Marketing Include:
<h3>1. Huge Return on Investment</h3>
ROI matters a lot to small businesses. Digital marketing offers businesses a substantial return on investment. Social media marketing, display advertising, and email marketing cost less but deliver high ROI than traditional marketing techniques.
<h3>2. Increased Customer Loyalty</h3>
It’s usually expensive to attract and convert leads than to retain existing customers. However, most small businesses often find it difficult to establish customer loyalty. But through digital marketing strategies, retaining customers is easier than ever.

Proven tactics like personalized emails make customers feel value, driving repeated sales. Frequent social media engagements ensure that customers remain engaged via relevant and encouraging content. So, whenever they need a service or product, they will think about your small business.
<h5>READ ALSO: <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/how-to-handle-difficult-customers/">HOW TO HANDLE DIFFICULT CUSTOMERS</a></h5>
<h3>3. Easy to Measure</h3>
Small businesses can easily track and measure the success of their marketing campaign. As a result, they can know which strategy is driving sales to their business.

<div id="attachment_10250" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10250 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/07/market3.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333" /> Laptop with company charts</div>

Although some traditional marketing methods are quite effective, they don’t provide business owners with a way to measure effectiveness. But with digital marketing, every campaign has a tracking system. Whether it’s search engine optimization (SEO) or social media marketing, you will be able to measure the performance of your campaign immediately.

Tracking your result allows you to identify the area where your campaign is failing so you can make improvements. You’ll get insight into what works for your business and what does not. As such, you can better optimize your marketing strategies to make more out of your budget and grow your business.
<h3>4. Improves Conversion Rate</h3>
The most notable perk of digital marketing is improving conversion rate. When business owners invest in conversion rate optimization digital marketing strategies, they can increase their conversion rate. This is because the strategy allows them to target more specific leads. Therefore, increase their chance of converting the leads into customers. A higher conversion rate means increased sales and overall growth of the business.

As you can see, digital marketing plays a crucial role in business growth. Now, let’s look at the reasons why outsourcing to a digital marketing agency for small businesses in the UK is a good idea.
<h5>READ ALSO: <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/how-digital-marketing-campaign-agencies-can-help-grow-your-small-business/">HOW DIGITAL MARKETING AGENCIES CAN HELP GROW YOUR SMALL BUSINESS ?</a></h5>
<h2>Benefits of Outsourcing Digital Marketing Agency For Small Businesses</h2>
<h3>1. Cost-Effective</h3>
For a small business to craft and implement an online marketing strategy, requires a digital marketing team. Hiring such a team means the company will have to spend money on salaries, benefits, and taxes. However, outsourcing a digital marketing agency can help the business save on all the mentioned expenses.

By outsourcing advertising agencies, you will enjoy the benefits of working with experts in the field and paying for only what you need. You will enjoy the flexibility of hiring experts per hour or project without the commitment of long contracts. As a result, you gain full control over the total cost.
<h3>2. Save Time and Money on Hiring</h3>
The cost of hiring a new employee with a specific marketing skill set is usually high, and not all small businesses can afford it. Keep in mind that even after hiring you still have to train the employees, which takes a significant amount of time, ranging from 2 weeks to 3 months, depending on the position.

You can avoid the hassle of looking for suitable employees and overhead expenses such as benefits through outsourcing. Furthermore, you won’t have to take resources or time from your marketing team to train every new employee.
<h3>3. Avoid Dependence on A Single Employee</h3>
Most small businesses can only afford to hire one in-house marketer. If this member takes a vacation or falls sick, they have to pause the marketing tasks until she resumes work. Even though owners can put several business activities on hold, digital marketing is not one of them.

By outsourcing to digital marketing firms, the company can have someone to take over the job when the marketer cannot work because of one reason or another.
<h3>4. Less Management More Output</h3>
About 90% of startups and small businesses struggle to stay afloat during the first three years of operation. Therefore, it’s crucial to focus more on the products or services you’re offering and outsource the marketing activities to experts in the field.

<div id="attachment_10251" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10251 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/07/market4.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1125" /> Digital marketing experts</div>

As such, you can put all your efforts and time into other critical aspects of the business. Also, you will free yourself from managerial headaches, handling vacations, or increasing employee motivation.

Besides that, you get to retain more office space both physically and figuratively. You don’t have to go through the hassle of getting a new desk and chair for a new employee. When you have fewer things on your plate, it’s easy to give 100% attention to time-sensitive activities. Therefore, outsourcing can also increase employee performance and overall output.
<h3>5. Forster’s Collaboration</h3>
Outsourced digital marketers will require information about different projects and aspects of the company. Therefore, members of the marketing team and from other departments will work together with the outsourced marketers to promote the easy flow of the projects.

When the marketing team, outsourced marketers, and other staff within the business work together, there’s increased collaboration in the company. This is important, especially for newly established businesses where staff members don’t know each other.
<h3>6. Get Attuned to The Latest Industry Trends</h3>
Professional digital marketers spend lots of time searching and learning new skills while improving the strategies and techniques they’ve already mastered. So, it’s right to say they’re more informed about the latest trends and updates in this ever-growing and changing marketing area.

These experts can help you adopt or shift to a new strategy that will help you grow and stay Infront of your competitors.
<h3>7. Gain Access to The Latest Technology</h3>
A reputable digital marketing firm in the UK makes use of the latest tech that allows them to carry out fast and accurate research and analysis. Thus, they can identify all the information required to increase conversion rate, sales and achieve other business goals. Usually, most startups cannot afford these techs, so it’s a wise idea for them to outsource. This way they can save money while accessing all the latest technology necessary to boost company growth.
<h3>8. New Insights and Ideas</h3>
Working on your business every day gives you the chance to understand your venture well, but there’s always something that you will miss. For instance, you might have a tough time figuring what brings leads to your site. If you feel something is missing in your company’s marketing strategy, it’s wise to get the help of an expert.

Professional digital marketers can offer you a new perspective on approaching your marketing strategy in today’s world. These skilled experts often work with several companies and industries. So, they understand what works today in the marketing world.

When you hire them, they may bring a fresh perspective on how you can boost your website traffic. The agency will work together with you to come up with ideas that will enhance every aspect of your marketing campaign and make it successful.
<h3>9. Get High-Quality Results</h3>
When you hire the best digital marketing firm in the UK, expect to receive high-quality results. Besides possessing a wide array of skills in marketing, a specialist from such agencies has a powerful motivation to please the clients.

These specialists know a client can replace them with better ones if they slack at providing the best services. Hence, all the time, they aim to deliver and surpass the clients’ expectations.

Digital marketing agencies care about the quality of work they provide because they value customer retention and understand the power of word of mouth. That’s why some will offer you data-driven insights and metrics that will boost your company sales.
<h2>Clos*</h2>
We hope these benefits have cleared all the doubts you had about outsourcing digital marketing agency for small businesses in the UK. 

Outsourcing presents you with the opportunity to save time and money while reducing overhead costs and boosting business growth. We recommend outsourcing to every small business owner desiring to increase their brand awareness and sales via digital marketing.

Why Digital Marketing Agency For Small Businesses Should Be Outsourced?

Executive director woman briefing collegues, explaning company strategy during brainstorming. Multiethnical businesspeople working in professional startup financial office during conference meeting

Executive director woman briefing collegues, explaning company strategy

Customer satisfaction score is something you must always rank at top. With these 6 proven strategies for how to measure customer satisfaction turn #1 brand.

How To Measure Customer Satisfaction ? 6 Proven Strategies To Follow

Measuring customer satisfaction should be a top priority. The average shopper tells 15 people when they’ve had a bad customer service experience. Whereas, with a 5% boost in client retention rate, a business can ramp up their profits by <a href="https://www.customerthermometer.com/customer-service/customer-service-and-satisfaction-statistics-for-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">25% to 95%</a>. 

To really improve your standpoint, you need to know how to measure customer satisfaction the right way. But, acquiring a grasp around customer loyalty and satisfaction is no easy task. It can be hard to be objective when assessing clients’ happiness. Luckily, there are practical methods that can get the job done. 
<h2>The Impact of Customer Satisfaction</h2>
Based on <a href="http://info.microsoft.com/rs/157-GQE-382/images/EN-CNTNT-Report-DynService-2017-global-state-customer-service-en-au.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a survey</a>, 52% of global respondents stated that businesses should take action on gathering customer feedback. Not only to improve their products but to build loyalty and better engagement. This is to ensure that the growth of the business is on the right track. 

<img class="img-fluid alignnone wp-image-10229 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/07/1aaas.png" alt="" width="756" height="729" />
Credit: Customer Thermometer
Learning how to measure customer feedback can provide any company with beneficial implications. In time, clients who gained consecutive positive experiences have better odds of becoming loyal to the brand as a whole. 

This is a critical fact, considering that a business would need to spend 6 to 7 times more resources on attracting new clients than keeping the current ones. 
<h5>READ ALSO: <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/mistakes-made-by-businesses-on-website-review/">MISTAKES MADE BY BUSINESSES ON REVIEW WEBSITES </a></h5>
<h2>6 Methods On How to Measure Customer Satisfaction</h2>
Every client will judge a product or a service based on personal taste. They will use emotional (affective) and rational (cognitive) reactions to analyze a product. But, they will also use behavioural intentions, like what are the odds of recommending or repurchasing the product. These are all vital components of what determines customer satisfaction. Take a look at the ways you can measure it.
<h3>1. Define All Research Goals</h3>
Before you figure out how to measure customer satisfaction, you would need to establish adequate goals. Why do you need this data? What does it have to offer? The methods should be tailored towards the customer’s needs. 

<div id="attachment_10233" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10233 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/07/1aaas1.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333" /> Team of young professionals discussion research objectives.</div>

When measuring customer satisfaction, the methods used should be well-designed and relevant. Start with evaluating the company’s capabilities and brand, then focus on the actions that would garner the most results. Rely on the insight that will bridge the gap between multiple products or services from your competition. This can allow you to perfect your practice. 

Once you’ve determined the goals, it’s time to set up a plan. It could mean revamping your support systems, website navigation, streamline processes, or more. Whatever benefits the consumer in the long run. 
<h3>2. Collect Data Through a Survey</h3>
Collecting data online is now easier than ever. What used to be a costly procedure with delay, is now stored in seconds. Businesses can use questions to see how happy their clients are with the service. They can ask about delivery, payment, process, or physical features of the product they bought. 

<div id="attachment_10234" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10234 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/07/1aaas2.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1334" /> analyzing statistics from customers survey</div>

Including any other aspects that are related to the business. Those who don’t know how to measure customer feedback can rely on satisfaction surveys. They can take many forms, like live chat, e-mails, or in-app scores. 

Live chat surveys work through a pop-up after or before a transaction. Featuring only 1 to 2 questions, they are more than enough to assess the client’s thoughts. E-mail surveys come up after a transaction, once the customer has confirmed their e-mail and delivery. 

In-app surveys, however, require a bit more creativity. They use different metrics, like customer effort scores, to engage the audience and maintain their attention. What’s important is to do the surveys just right, not use them as an invasive campaign. 

What most companies do is underestimate the impact of a well-made survey. To create an effective pull, never assume that the client’s time is more valuable than yours. Keep the questions relevant, simple, and precise. Every sentence should be short and easy to read. 

Ask only clever questions, without insulting the intelligence of the consumer. Anything that’s irrelevant or vague will do more harm than good. Maintain transparent and consistent content that’s both professional and coherent.
<h3>3. Use Social Media</h3>
Did you know: <a href="https://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-research/5-social-media-customer-service-stats-you-must-know/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">40% of clients</a> who complain in social media expect a response in an hour. While 63% of consumers are happy with the response time on social media. 

Every social media platform provides real-time customer feedback. It is also an uncensored version of what the client thinks. Regular monitoring is here to establish a direct line of communication, and build trust with consumers. 

One of the key benefits of social media feedback in customer satisfaction in business solutions is that it is available 24/7. The platforms blend well with people’s daily activities, letting them feel more inclined to leave feedback. 
<h3>4. Rely on Online CX Measurement Tools </h3>
Customer Experience Measurement (CX) is the practice of measuring customer experience at all touchpoints along the customer journey.

What you need is insight, suggestions, and useful information. Something you can’t get from your frontline agents. Predictive CX platforms are here to give companies a better opportunity at measuring and managing their CX performance. 

There are countless options online that can collect that valuable data. Some of the ways they can help are by providing:
<ul>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">Free survey library – Each platform has ready-made templates with adequate surveys you can use to get questionnaires. You can customize the templates or make some edits to fit your needs. </li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">Role-based access – Companies can assign access to surveys according to the roles of their team members. The data collected is then sent to proper stakeholders. This is also a great method to protect important information that you collected over time.</li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">Customizable dashboard – Whether you want to use filters, labels, or charts, you can get that with these dashboards. You can then share them when they are ready. As a creative method, the dashboard has numerous benefits. It can also create a hefty impact. </li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">Detractor recovery – It is normal to have a couple of dissatisfied clients. But, to collect relevant data, it is crucial to do a follow-up with the dissatisfied consumers. Show them that you addressed their concerns and use different patterns to improve the product. </li>
</ul>
All of these are useful tools for boosting strategic decision-making and informing. Systems such as these are a solid way of measuring customer satisfaction. They allow leaders to establish a quantified and accurate view of the facts that propel client experience. They are here to amplify performance and set a solid foundation for CX improvement. 
<h3>5. Use CSAT and CES Score</h3>
Taken from the client surveys, the CSAT score is here to show the number of satisfied customers with your business over the total number of consumers. BPO (business process outsourcing) companies rely on this method to assess the quality of their product or service in each call. 

<div id="attachment_10235" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10235 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/07/1aaas3.jpg" alt="review chat to measure custom satisfaction" width="2000" height="1297" /> Customer reviews</div>

Your goal should be to obtain the best ratings possible from your current clients. This is a guaranteed method of establishing a notable reputation and trust. To obtain the score, clients rate the service from 1-5, 1-3, or 1-7. The overall percentage can give you a better perspective of what the forecast sales can look like. This can help your company make better decisions. 

CES (customer effort score) is equally important. Quite like the CSAT score, CES relies on clients’ ratings on the experience or ease of operation. It shows whether your service is hassle-free and works smoothly. Or, it is difficult to use and time-consuming. 

For this method, it is a good idea to use a 1-5 scale. That’s because the score is the total number of clients who agree that interaction with your service or product was easy. For instance, if <a href="https://delighted.com/what-is-customer-effort-score" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">65 clients</a> out of 100 give you a 4/5 rating, the CES would be 65. By analyzing the data over time, you can get practical feedback with every internal process. 
<h3>6. Gain Customer Base With Rating Sites</h3>
Review platforms are critical in spreading awareness and building an online presence. Options like Google, Yelp, and <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/">RateUsOnline</a> reviews can get you on the right path. This is something your business can use to establish credibility and expand its reach. 

Think of it as a log, where every client you have can post their personal experience about your product or service. Yes, you can gain some negative feedback. But, if you apologize and promise to provide better results, you can still mitigate the difficulties. 
<h5>READ ALSO: <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/how-to-use-online-business-directory-to-beat-your-competition/">HOW TO USE ONLINE REVIEWS TO BEAT YOUR COMPETITION</a></h5>
The advantage of this technique is that a lot more people use it to write feedback. With it, it is easy to find what determines customer satisfaction. Rating sites are convenient at getting the point across. In time, more and more people will leave positive feedback, helping you boost your traffic and client base.  

Final Thoughts

There is always room for growth. But, with continuous improvement and client feedback, you can make sure you are on the right path to success. All the tips listed here talk about how to measure customer satisfaction efficiently and with ease. Although they can take some time and effort, this is a time well-spent. Even the criticism you get can help you design a worthwhile project. As long as you don’t ignore your clients, you will always be one step closer to a solid client base. Depending on what you are selling, you can make the necessary tweaks.

How To Measure Customer Satisfaction

Pretty young female sitting on the floor by couch while looking for online data or watching video in the net

Home network

Virtual connection with fellow professional is the new normal. But how to turn business networking into new opportunities while working remotely ? Read Here

Business Networking While Working Remotely ! How To Tips.

Working from home is awesome. It gives you so much flexibility and freedom. In the United Kingdom, more than <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-8-4-million-were-working-from-home-last-year-as-pandemic-struck-12309068" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">8.4 million employees</a> were doing jobs that allowed them to work from home. The recent global pandemic even made remote work more popular, and millions of people are still working from their homes until this day. 

However, even if you are working remotely, networking is highly essential. Networking will expose you to different <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/most-common-business-challenges-and-opportunities-faced-by-entrepreneurs/">professional opportunities</a>. It would also help you to cultivate and establish vital relationships that can help you take your career to the next level. 

Nevertheless, networking can be a bit difficult, even more, difficult when you are working remotely. For you to be able to strike a perfect balance, you need to know business networking best practices and follow them through. In this guide, I will be sharing with you some business networking best practices and tips on how to do business networking while working from home. 
<h2>Business Networking Tips for Remote Workers</h2>
<h3>1. Join Relevant LinkedIn Groups</h3>
Joining relevant LinkedIn groups is a great business network tip, and it yields interesting results. When you go through your <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/">LinkedIn account</a>, you can do much more than just see those that viewed your profile. Many people just scan through this platform to look at other people’s profiles and interesting articles. Interesting, LinkedIn has a lot to offer than that. 

<div id="attachment_10224" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10224 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/07/business5.jpg" alt="young woman doing work from home " width="2000" height="1333" /> Young woman networking online</div>

The platform has a wide range of groups for different job fields, personal interests, locations, and more. Perhaps you are interested in TED talks or you are a freelancer designer that wants to connect with other freelancers in that community. You can always find a group in your line of interest on this platform. 

Maybe you are a writer in London; there might be a group of other writers like you in that same city. You can look for a group that appeals to your interest and request to join. However, joining the group is not enough; you need to make an effort to be part of their discussions. Members of the group might be exchanging ideas and thoughts every week. 

Some group members might also share some updates about your profession as well as some relevant job opportunities. You can also get notifications of in-person networking events close by. Hence, you should look for relevant groups on LinkedIn, request to join the group, and participate in the conversations in the group. 
<h3>2. Connect and Meet with Your Colleagues</h3>
Depending on the size of your organization, you might have a few colleagues that are also working from the comfort of their home as you. Many people working from home stay connected to their co-workers via platforms such as Slack, Skype, GoToMeeting, and other chat and online conferencing tools. Those are the most convenient means to keep in touch with your colleagues on a regular basis. However, that does not mean you cannot make an effort to meet with them in person -occasionally. 

You can reach out to some fellow team members that live in the same city as you. You can pick a nice place to meet and network; probably go out for dinner. Even if the in-person meeting is very short, it would still go a long way. 
<h3>3. Join Professional Slack Communities and Groups</h3>
If you want to do business networking while working from the comfort of your home, Slack is one of the best tools to use. Many companies and organizations use this platform for sharing ideas, communicating, and working on projects. Interestingly, Slack does more than that, as it can also be used to bring people together, regardless of where they are in the world. 

<div id="attachment_10223" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10223 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/07/business4.jpg" alt="emplpyee joining professional Slack Communities and Groups for business networking " width="2000" height="1333" /> Using online connect technology for business</div>

If you are not part of a private <a href="https://www.owllabs.com/blog/remote-work-slack-communities" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Slack group</a> or community because of a Slack platform or shared experience from your firm, you can start with loads of free Slack communities. You can join the free groups to meet new people. 

Joining these groups will expose you to other professionals in your field. You would be able to learn new things from them. You can also see new job posts, shared work experiences, work opportunities, and more. For example, there are different Slack groups for professionals in development, design, writing, product, technology, and more. You can join more than one Slack group, provided they help you to network. 
<h3>4. Connect with Others via Your Social Media Channels</h3>
Social media also play a key role when doing business networking. Many professionals use their social media account, especially Instagram, as portfolios for art, products, professional services, or photography. If you want to do business networking over social media, you should make sure that your account exhibits who you are. 

Your account should be transparent about your goals, skills, or business. If you want your social media account to be private, then you can create another account for your business only. You can use the business account to know about your audience and engage with them in a meaningful way. With this strategy, you can build and grow your professional network virtually, completely online. 
<h3>5. Start a Podcast</h3>
Podcasts are increasingly becoming popular, as people use them for a wide range of purposes. Podcasts are not only for keeping you entertained during a workout or long drive; you can also use them to connect with other people in your profession or industry. You can build an incredible business network by creating relevant and insightful podcasts. 

<div id="attachment_10221" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10221 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/07/business3.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333" /> host speaking in microphone in podcasting studio</div>

Starting a podcast is not easy, as it requires a lot of effort and time. Creating your own podcasts is more labour-intensive than inviting someone to join a Slack community. However, if you are genuinely interested in podcasting, and you are willing to put in all the extra work and time, podcasting can be an extremely valuable networking tool. 

With a podcast, you can interview interesting, influential people, and this will help to get your name or brand out there in your industry. When your name is out there, chances are you will get more opportunities down the line. Because you are not confined to a particular space or time zone as your guests, you can manage the whole process from the comfort of your home. 
<h3>6. Look for Ways to Offer Value</h3>
People like those who help them. Hence, if you make yourself one of those who add real value to others, you will endear yourself to people automatically. The most interesting part of this is that you can do this while working from the comfort of your home. 
<h5>READ ALSO: <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/must-follow-marketing-strategies-for-small-businesses/">MUST FOLLOW MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR SMALL BUSINESS</a></h5>
You can do business networking by looking for opportunities to offer value. Look for ways to support, help, or make valuable connections for people in your network. If you are a designer, look for people on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Slack groups that are finding it difficult to get design work for their business. You can share some of your favourite design tools with them and teach them how they can work with them. 

<div id="attachment_10225" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10225 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/07/business6.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333" /> Young woman planning how to add value to her network</div>

If you know people that are having challenges in hiring a new assistant, you can send them a helpful article on how they can hire a virtual assistant or team. If you have two clients that can work together, you can link them up. You should be genuine when helping others. 

Do not help them because you hope they will help you along the line. Your goal should be to add value to others, and this would help to build your network much faster than you can imagine. Your name or brand will go far for your good works, and you will reap the rewards in no time. 
<h3>7. Look for Networking Events in Your Community</h3>
If you are looking for a network, Google can be a great tool. A simple Google search can bring up loads of local events for you. Most of the major cities in the UK have networks designed especially for young professionals. You can search for the network in your city or the local area, join the groups, and check out their meetups. 

These networks come in different forms. Some might be for networking in certain fields, some might be only social, while some might be volunteer opportunities. Irrespective of the form, this is a nice way to leave the house and meet with plenty of people who are looking to meet and network with others. 

These events are usually open to everyone. Hence, you might meet a mix of professionals who work from the comfort of their homes like or you in an office. This is a great way to connect and meet new people that can help you take your career to the next level. 

Final Thoughts

There are different ways you can do business networking while working remotely. You can also start with the network you already have before expanding your reach. Networking is very important, especially for those who work from the comfort of their homes, as they spend most of their time indoors. For you to learn new skills, find new jobs and opportunities, you need to network and connect with others. In this article, we have listed some of the most effective ways you can do business networking to get your name, brand, or business out there while working remotely.

How To Do Business Networking While Working Remotely

High angle view of business people sitting at the table with documents and computer and working in team at business meeting

Business people sitting at business meeting

Franchising is one of the most successful ways to start a business in the UK. Learn about the best franchise opportunities in UK with this detailed guide.

Franchise Opportunities UK. Guide To Get You The Right Opportunity

Do you dream of owning a business one day? Then, consider franchising. It’s one of the most successful ways to start a business in the UK.

In fact, over the last 20 years, the number of franchise businesses has doubled. The industry has grown by 10% since 2015, and today it’s worth billions of pounds. As a result, finding the right franchise business for sale in the UK is now easier than ever before.

In a world where financial crisis and novel viruses can appear anytime and cripple the economy, it’s wise to invest in already established businesses. You can start your new business by riding the wave of a company with a good support network in place and pre-existing brand awareness.

Here, you will learn about the best franchise opportunities in the UK. But before we dive in, let’s define a franchise and the benefits of investing in one.
<h2>What Is a Franchise?</h2>
A franchise is a business opportunity where an entrepreneur (franchisee) pays a company (franchisor) for the rights to trade under their name. The franchisee gains the right to the franchisor’s trademarks, business system, marketing materials, and products and services.

<img class="img-fluid alignnone wp-image-10189 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/07/fran5.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1329" />

Normally, an independent entrepreneur must pay an initial fee to buy into the franchise and royalties (ongoing payments) to keep the right to trade under the company’s name. However, some franchises have additional fees, so it’s wise to research before applying.

Franchising offers you lots of advantages that aren’t available for entrepreneurs who’re starting a business from scratch. Perhaps one of the most significant perks is that you don’t have to worry about building a customer base. Also, you get to work with a proven system of operation and receive training on how to use it.

That said, franchisees are only responsible for running a franchise, but not the business itself. Therefore, they don’t have a say in the direction the company takes.
<h2>Benefits of Buying into UK Franchise Opportunities</h2>
<h3>1. Capital</h3>
Most entrepreneurs find it hard to expand their small businesses today because of a lack of access to capital. However, franchising is an alternative form of capital acquisition that comes with endless advantages. First and foremost, business owners can expand their business without the worry of debt or cost of equity.

The capital requirement for most top franchise opportunities in the UK is lower because they often provide the capital to open and operate each franchised outlet. By using the money from the company, the business can grow unfettered by debt.
<h3>2. Brand Recognition</h3>
Many new businesses fail within their first year of operation because they struggle to create brand awareness. Investing in a franchise prevents you from handling the essential aspects of launching a new business.

Because the franchise has already established itself as a reputable business, you gain access to a large customer base. So, when you open a franchise, customers will automatically know what your business is and what to expect.
<h3>3. Buying Power</h3>
Another reason entrepreneurs buy a franchise is the sheer size of the network. In a standalone business, owners must pay a lot of money per item when ordering products or supplies since their orders are relatively small.

However, franchises have the advantage of strength in numbers. Therefore, they can get materials, supplies, and services in bulk and at a discounted price. The parent company can use its network to negotiate for location leases, lease terms, and deals.
<h3>4. Security and Support</h3>
The best franchises in the UK invest lots of money in security and support systems. In return, these systems facilitate the training entrepreneurs receive to manage their businesses and accounts. Also, to track sales, set targets, and creating marketing strategies.

The initial fee and royalties you pay the franchise often cover the cost of all these. It also ensures you can access everything you need to run a franchise successfully.
<h3>5. Speed of Growth</h3>
Entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas always live in fear that someone else might beat them to the market with their own concept. But that’s a common thing in the business world.

The truth is launching a single unit takes lots of time. So, some entrepreneurs prefer investing in a franchise. This way, they can capture the market early and take the helm before their competitors because the parent company handles most of the tasks.

Through franchising, entrepreneurs gain franchisor financial leverage as well as leverage on human resources. As a result, they can compete with already establish companies and saturate the markets before their competitors can respond.
<h5>READ ALSO: <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/5-franchise-opportunities-in-the-uk-for-2021/">5 FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITIES IN THE UK FOR 2021 </a></h5>
<h2></h2>
<h2>Industries With the Most Profitable Franchise for Sale in the UK</h2>
<h3>1. Fast Foods Franchises</h3>
Although most people often criticise the fast-food industry, we can all agree that it comes with lots of merits. Many individuals can’t resist occasional burgers, chips, and pizza, even those on a diet. The UK fast food industry is worth £9.8 billion.

<div id="attachment_10188" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10188 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/07/fran1.jpg" alt="burger joints Franchises" width="2000" height="1333" /> burger fast food menu and french fries</div>

In the UK, fast foods brands like K.F.C, McDonald’s, and Starbucks are some of the biggest and most lucrative franchises. These franchises offer good returns and well-established brand awareness.

As part of one of these franchises, you will enjoy the perks of joining a reputable company with a footing in the industry and a guarantee of operating a successful business.

Since the fast-food industry is ever-expanding and diversifying, you will benefit from the support of the parent company that has knowledge and expertise in staying on top of a competitive market.

However, there’s a downside, the buy-in price for these franchises is expensive. For example, to buy a McDonald’s franchise you have to spend over £30,000, and it’s still growing.
<h3>2. Fitness Franchise</h3>
Entrepreneurs with health and nutrition knowledge should consider buying a fitness franchise. We are living in a world where conditions like obesity and diabetes are common. This means most individuals are on the lookout for health and nutritional help to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Also, it’s hard to miss people working out in the gym.

<div id="attachment_10190" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10190 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/07/fran2.jpg" alt="Fitness Franchise opportunities in UK" width="2000" height="1334" /> fitness club</div>
<h3>3. Home Care Franchises</h3>
Over the years, the number of elderly people has increased exponentially in the UK, especially those aged 80 and above. Therefore, there’s an increased need for home care services to provide care and assistance to sick seniors and those with disabilities or mobility issues.

The healthcare industry is expanding rapidly, so if you’re a caring and dedicated entrepreneur, opt for franchise opportunities in this sector.
<h2>Low-Cost Franchise Opportunities in the UK</h2>
<h3>1. Pest Control Franchise</h3>
A pest control industry is not something most entrepreneurs would automatically consider as a new business venture. But if you’re after low-cost franchises UK-wide, this market will better suit you.

The pest control industry has grown at a steady pace over the years because of the increasing demand for pest control services in the country. Furthermore, creating a pest control business from scratch is difficult. You must meet certain requirements and follow several laws. Also, your solution must be effective, or you will lose your customers.

But when you become a franchisee, you will receive the training and products to deliver long-lasting results. Besides that, the parent company will help you get the business off the ground and running legally.
<h3>2. Cleaning and Home Improvement Franchises</h3>
Over 5.4 million businesses and 27 million households in the UK depend on cleaning services. Thus, it’s a profitable industry.

Today, most people get tied down with work and other responsibilities, hence, they don’t have enough time to clean their houses. That’s where professional cleaning companies come in. So, investing in a franchise in the cleaning industry is a wise decision. What’s even better it’s affordable and highly profitable.

<div id="attachment_10191" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10191 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/07/fran3.jpg" alt="Cleaning and Home Improvement Franchise opportunities in UK" width="2000" height="1334" /> cleaning service</div>
<h2>4 Top Franchises Opportunities in The UK in 2021</h2>
<h3>1. Doctor Drain</h3>
Doctor Drain is perhaps one of the UK’s largest drain clearance and emergency plumbing companies. The company boasts a reputation of having reliable and trustworthy technicians who deliver high-quality plumbing services at an affordable price around the clock, all year round.

Its franchise model allows franchisees to lead and motivate their teams of expert plumbers and drainage technicians so they can succeed within their locality. If you invest in the franchise, rest assure you will have a steady flow of work and income since they have contracts with big companies like Wetherspoon, DHL, and Nando’s.

You will need about £86,000 plus VAT to buy the franchise. As a franchisee, you stand a chance of earning over £1 million yearly. Also, the company will provide you with ongoing support and mentoring. The best part, you don’t require prior plumbing experience because you won’t be handling any plumbing or maintenance work; you will only run the team.
<h3>2. Subway</h3>
Subway is a popular fast-food restaurant known for its tasty sandwiches. It is one of the best franchises to own in the UK because it has the lowest startup costs of about £8,500.

However, the total investment can balloon up to £200,000, depending on the franchise location. Apart from that, franchisees must pay 4% of their net sales towards the marketing fund and 8% towards royalties.

Franchisees will benefit from a two-week training program offered by the parent company. Also, they enjoy continuous support and mentoring. The franchise contract runs for about 20 years.
<h3>3. Anytime Fitness</h3>
The persistent COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent lockdown, means most gyms have closed in the UK. But that won’t be the case forever. Anytime Fitness provides budding healthcare and nutrition franchisees in the UK and the opportunity to generate income throughout the year via their franchise model.

You will enjoy a 5- or 10-year contract with a company that has an impressive track record and extensive support. You don’t have to pay any royalties, but the total investment can surpass £550,000. Also, you need an initial upfront fee of about £170,000.
<h3>4. McDonald’s</h3>
Our list will not be complete without mentioning the world-renowned fast-food chain restaurant across Europe and the globe. McDonald’s is a highly profitable franchise, but it’s ideal for entrepreneurs with enough investment capital.

The startup cost is at least £100,000 upfront. However, the total investment cost can run up to £ 350,000. Also, entrepreneurs must direct 5% of their net sales towards royalties and 4.5% to advertising funds.

Just like Subway, the contract can run for 20 years with a promising yearly return of about £50,000. In addition, franchisees will enjoy comprehensive support and a 26-week training program to get the business up and running.

Take Away

UK franchise opportunities offer budding entrepreneurs a way to start a profitable business without the hassle of establishing a strong consumer base from scratch. Franchisees enjoy numerous benefits, including working with an established brand while receiving continuous mentoring and support.

That said, explore the listed franchise opportunities in the UK, and find the one suited for your needs. Keep in mind, it’s wise to seek financial and legal counsel before investing in any franchise.

Learn About Franchise Opportunities in the UK

Starting a business is a big achievement for many entrepreneurs. Here are most common business challenges and opportunities for Entrepreneurs.

Most Common Business Challenges / Opportunities For Entrepreneurs

&nbsp;“A small business is an amazing way to serve and leave an impact on the world you live in.” – Nicole Snow. There are about <a href="https://globalnaps.org/issue/small-medium-enterprises-smes/" target="_blank">400 million small and medium businesses</a> (SMBs) around the world. They are the main source of job creation globally. SMBs account for about 60 to 70% of employment and constitute over 95% of all businesses in the world. <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes_en" target="_blank">In the European Union alone,</a> the small and medium businesses: represent approximately 99% of all businesses, generate about 85% of total employment, and provide two-third of the overall employment in the private sector. And yet, in the UK <a href="https://fundsquire.co.uk/startup-statistics/" target="_self">about 20% of new businesses</a> fail in their first year. Around 60% go bust within the first three years. That being said, it is important to analyse WHY small and medium businesses fail. What kind of obstacles do SMBs face that big companies don’t? And how can they overcome these business challenges?&nbsp;
<h2>Below are some of the most common business challenges faced by SMBs.&nbsp;</h2>
<h3>1. Demand for products/services &nbsp;</h3>
So, you’ve always wanted to open an auto shop, and you finally have the means to do it. But you choose a neighbourhood with less population. Or a market that is already saturated with auto service providers. Not insinuating that your automotive repair shop will fail. But it will be very difficult to break in. As with real estate, successful businesses are also driven by “location, location, location.” Don’t follow the herd to open a repetitive business. Instead, find an opening or an unmet need within your area. Then fill it with your service or product. It’s easier to address the pain points of customers rather than convincing them to invest in a new brand with similar products.&nbsp;
<h6>Read Also: <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/10-online-business-ideas-to-start-in-2021/" target="_blank">10 Online Business Ideas To Start In 2021</a>&nbsp;</h6>
<h3>2. Where do I find customers? How should I retain them?&nbsp;</h3>
For a majority of SMBs, word of mouth and customer referrals are two main modes to create brand awareness. Mahatma Gandhi said in a speech in South Africa in 1980, “A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us an opportunity to do so.” Even statistics point in this direction.&nbsp;
<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/07/bs2_.png" alt="" style="height: ;width: "/>
<h2>&nbsp;3. Lack of leadership skills&nbsp;</h2>
There’s no set eligibility to become a leader of a small or medium business. Still, considering the challenges of running a business and leading a team, many business owners falter as they do not possess the right skill set. Running a successful business takes more than just a great idea. It requires leadership – and not every business owner is a natural-born leader. On the bright side, leadership skills can be learnt. Charismatic leaders: 1. They are good listeners, 2. maintain transparency in communication, 3. are not afraid to make mistakes, 4. know how to delegate, 5. are optimistic, always looking forward and 6. hold themselves and others accountable.
The growth of a business is only held back by the ability of its leaders to both manage and lead. So, the next time your business is not growing as you hope, think. Maybe you can improve yourself to propel the business forward. Psychologist and Author, Dr William Anton surmises this point in his article, Know Thyself: It’s Good for Business. He mentions that power and influence are concentrated at the top. Therefore, self-knowledge plays a crucial role in steering a business towards success.&nbsp;
<h2>4. Absence of a well-laid business plan&nbsp;</h2>
<img src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/07/bs4.png" alt="business plan checklist" style="height: ;width: "/>

High-growth oriented entrepreneurs are 7% more likely to plan. Innovators with disruptive products are 4% more likely to plan. Business-owners seeking funding are 19% more likely to put their vision to paper. So, which of these entrepreneurs do you want to be? More importantly, what heights do you plan to take your business to?&nbsp;
<h2>5. Identifying the right marketing strategy&nbsp;</h2>
There’s no owner’s manual to run a business – or to market one. Most business owners, therefore, rely on a series of trials and errors to generate brand awareness. They experiment with paid ads, tradeshows and events, social media, and word of mouth – and hope that something clicks. However, it pays to keep a tab on what your competitors are doing. Both online and physical marketing come in all sizes and shapes.&nbsp;
Knowing your audience is the first step towards developing a sound marketing strategy. This is because a one-size-fits-all policy doesn’t work in marketing. So, if a tactic worked for one business, doesn’t mean it will work for you too. For example, let’s say you run a bakery. If you want to build a solid web presence, ask the following questions to yourself:&nbsp;
What is the demographic of my neighbourhood?&nbsp;
How old are my prospective buyers?&nbsp;
What delivery platforms do these customers prefer?&nbsp;
How do they search for products?&nbsp;
What kind of baked goods is the most popular in this area? 
Answers to all these questions will help you develop a targeted marketing strategy.&nbsp;
<h2>6. Struggles with technology&nbsp;</h2>
What’s the biggest challenge for most businesses when going online? Embracing technology! Not everybody can be a coder and it takes a while to understand how website development platforms work, what kind of cybersecurity and payment measures need to be in place, and how to align them with SEO best practices. This is just one part of the tech side. &nbsp;
There is also, social media marketing to learn, payroll software to get the hang of, and databases to maintain. Analytics reports to generate, and a lot of other things to understand in a very short time. Marc Cowper is the Founder &amp; CEO of Recomazing. He observes, “In today's environment, no business can compete on a mass scale without a solid digital foundation.” Disruptive businesses like Airbnb and Uber are proof that a tech-first approach can bring tremendous growth to a business. A vast majority of customers are online today. Therefore, you must replace your legacy tools with intuitive marketing platforms that disseminate accurate information at the right time to the right customers, across all platforms. That is how you leverage the power of technology to scale up your business.&nbsp;
<h5>Takeaway&nbsp;</h5>
A winner is not a person who always succeeds, but the one who faces adversity with innovation, hard work, and is persistence. These small business challenges are critical. But it is also true that the challenges and opportunities of small businesses go hand in hand. Therefore, I encourage you to go ahead and explore how to address your business challenges in the best way possible.&nbsp;
&nbsp;

Most Common Business Challenges And Opportunities Faced By Entrepreneurs

Managing website review is not as easy as people presume. Learn how you manage your business reviews better are vital and require close monitoring.

Mistakes Made By Businesses For Website Review - RateUsOnline

Managing your reviews on review websites is not as easy as many people presume; website reviews are vital and require close monitoring. Unfortunately, many businesses fail to manage review sites and make mistakes, bringing in fewer reviews or even negative reviews. 

How can you manage your business reviews better? 

And how can you avoid making some errors that most businesses make on business review sites?

When dealing with consumer review websites, you must be vigilant, use an appropriate method to dispatch information, and choose the right time to do it. If any of the two aspects are not considered in review websites, then this results in lower clicks hence lower reviews. Through research, we have combined a list of mistakes that you should avoid to get more reviews that are positive.

1. Batch Invites

Many businesses make the mistake of sending review invites in batches expecting to receive a lot of feedback. However, this does the complete opposite. Using this method, you do not consider the time availability of your customer, which leads to an imbalance hence fewer reviews at the end of the day or the week.

<img class="img-fluid alignnone wp-image-10088 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/07/rev_1.jpg" alt="what customers say about the business " width="2000" height="1333" />

To score more reviews, try to send out invites to people when they are still on the site. When the customer is going through your site, it means that they might be interested in making a review on the business. Hence take this opportunity to boost your reviews by sending them an invite. 
<h5>READ MORE: <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/how-to-use-online-business-directory-to-beat-your-competition/">HOW TO USE ONLINE REVIEWS TO BEAT YOUR COMPETITION</a></h5>
<h2>2. Using Emails</h2>
In the past, sending review invites via email was pretty efficient and used to attract many reviews. However, the world has evolved, and now the smartphone has become more prevalent. Once people access the internet, they will probably spend time watching clips or reading books online rather than checking their email.

The most efficient method to use at this time and age is text messages. Text messages are pretty efficient and convenient for a lot of customers. Plus, one can access it even without using the internet. 

Text messages also quite affordable hence the cost should not worry you a lot.

Text messages have a ninety-nine per cent open rate compared to the twenty-three per cent for email. Hence if you want your business to receive more reviews, switch from using emails to send out invites and start using text messages.
<h5>READ ALSO: <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/why-are-reviews-important-for-your-business/">WHY ARE REVIEWS IMPORTANT FOR YOUR BUSINESS</a></h5>
<h2>3. Avoiding Negative Reviews</h2>
We learn through our mistakes, and in businesses, customers are like our marking scheme; they point out the mistakes you make to help you improve on them. However, many organizations have grown the notion of avoiding negative reviews made on their companies' review pages. 

<div id="attachment_10091" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10091 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/07/rev_3.jpg" alt="how to avoid negative reviews" width="2000" height="1330" /> Closeup of a man choosing wooden dice with smiling face</div>

While avoiding negative reviews might be a good solution, it is not the best. Customers require reassurance that you will improve your service or products, and a mere no reply does not help your case.

Instead, craft a good reply without letting emotions get in your way, apologize for any errors made during the service or product manufacture, and offer a corrective course of action. Using this strategy, you might even end up making a detractor more of a promoter for your business.
<h2>4. Choose a Reliable Review Website </h2>
Another error that many organizations have in common is prioritizing the wrong review websites. Therefore, when preparing to launch an online review, you must research the different sites available. There are some factors to consider, which include:
<ul>
 	<li>Which sites are your customers already looking into</li>
 	<li>Which sites are vigilant in terms of filtering fake reviews</li>
</ul>
Such assessment ensures that you choose the best review website for your organization to score better reviews.

The site with comprehensive coverage and has been in the industry for a while are great examples of efficient review websites. 
<h2>5. Buying Reviews</h2>
Buying reviews is not a good idea for your business; the consequences outweigh any short-term review boost you might achieve. Not to mention that the practice is pretty unethical and could dent your companies' reputation for life. 

<div id="attachment_10090" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10090 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/07/rev_4.jpg" alt="how to buy reviews " width="2000" height="1334" /> Customer satisfaction survey</div>

Instead, encourage your customers to leave genuine and positive reviews for your business rather than paying them. Doing so yields reviews that feel more authentic and that do not spike the attention of review sites. 

When you politely ask for reviews from your customers, you will be surprised at how many of them will oblige, especially if they had a good experience in your business.

Hence if you ever think of buying reviews, do not; it will only do your company more harm than good.
<h2>6. Leveraging Reviews on Multiple Marketing Materials</h2>
Online reviews are pretty valuable for your business. That is why you have to make the most out of them. 

Utilize reviews across all of your marketing efforts to build loyalty and trust between you and your customer. When customers have a place to leave a comment on experiences as per your business, whether positive or negative. They tend to bond with the organization better.

Utilizing reviews across different marketing efforts also increases your customer coverage which in turn boosts your review. I mean, the larger the scope, the more the hits.

Online reviews are excellent as you can use your online customer testimonials to advertise your business better. For example, customers will post the experiences that excited them and those that did not. Through this information, you can deduce an attractive advert that covers your businesses’ strengths and weaknesses.
<h2>7. Filtered Reviews</h2>
Another mistake that organizations face is filtered reviews or fake reviews. Getting a group of friends to do false reviews about your businesses is an incredibly terrible idea. Review websites have an algorithm that detects fake website reviews and automatically filters them out. 

The worst part about fake reviews is that they affect genuine reviews drastically. The algorithm used to filter out counterfeit reviews is not a hundred per cent efficient. Hence once it realizes that your organization has some fake reviews, it might filter even genuine reviews, which will not be good for your organization.

To avoid getting genuine reviews filtered out as fake, here are some red flags that you should watch out for:
<ul>
 	<li>A drastic spike in the number of reviews in a short period</li>
 	<li>Reviews from people who do not have a record in your company are a definite red flag for fake reviews</li>
 	<li>Multiple reviews from a single person who has never left a review before</li>
 	<li>Review from people who have limited information on their profile</li>
 	<li>Concise reviews</li>
 	<li>Reviews from a location that is far from your organization, or maybe abroad</li>
 	<li>Reviews with excessively positive or negative language</li>
</ul>
All these aspects spike the fake reviews filtering algorithm, which might lead to the loss of genuine reviews at the end of the day. Hence avoid them at all costs. 
<h2>8. Inadequate Review Profile</h2>
If your organization does not have a complete review profile, it does not rank as high when a potential customer searches for reviews on local businesses. If your business fails to show up on the prospect searches, it does not matter if you have an excellent star rating and excellent unfiltered review.

Hence ensure you fill in any business blanks as far as the organizations' review profile is concerned. Go the extra mile and include multiple images of your business plus happy customers; this motivates potential clients. Fill out all the information, whether it is "required" or "optional."

Here are some tips to make your profile more efficient:
<ul>
 	<li>First, ensure you use identical information on all of your product review sites, including telephone number, website, address, business name, and email address.</li>
 	<li>Use the same information for the details you input; this includes the number format and the address format.</li>
</ul>
All this is crucial because Google, the search engine that most people use, utilizes these details to identify your different accounts. Hence if you mix up your details across various sites, your business might not show up during a search. 
<h2>9. Pre-screening Customers</h2>
Having many negative reviews can harm your businesses' reputation drastically; it might even lead to your company losing clients, which might yield constant losses. Therefore to avoid such an occurrence, make sure you pre-screen a customer before sending out a review invitation.

Here is an example to help you understand how this concept works; when you visit a restaurant, and the owner asks, " how was the meal?" and your answer is " great," they will most probably tell you to spread the word to your friends. 

However, if your answer is like "the service was poor," then the owner will most probably not tell you to spread your word. The same case applies to product reviews; if you realize that a customer has a record of bad-mouthing your product, why would you send them a product review invite.

Hence, before you send an invite, always pre-screen the customer and identify their experience. Then ask them about the service provided at that particular time, and if they reply positively, then ask them to share it on your online review website. If they respond negatively, learn from your mistakes and try to make your services better.

By pre-screening to encourage a customer to leave positive reviews and continually improve on different errors, you stand to boost your business star rating immensely.

Conclusion 

Managing website reviews is not easy; however, it is crucial to building a better organization that has its customers' concerns heard. It is also essential for boosting motivation and understanding what points to work on to increase your businesses performance.

Mistakes Made By Businesses On Review Websites

Man writing on a white board mockup

Starting a new business in the United Kingdom is a bit daunting. In this guide, we will share some tips with you on opening and running a business in UK. 

How to Open a Business in the UK ? From Scratch To Finish

So you are thinking of how to open a business in the UK. Starting your own business is one of the surest ways to financial freedom. However, a business is more than a job, and it requires much more from you. If you are starting your own business in the UK, it is important that you know exactly what is involved. 

Starting a new business in the United Kingdom is a bit daunting. Nevertheless, more than half a million new <a href="https://fundsquire.co.uk/startup-statistics/#:~:text=The%2520yearly%2520GOV.uk%2520statistics,in%2520the%2520UK%2520every%2520year." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">businesses start up</a> every year in the UK, and the majority of them are highly successful and profitable. In this guide, we will share some tips with you on opening and running a business in UK. 
<h2>Tips for Starting Your Own Business in the UK</h2>
Starting up and running a business in the UK involves many tasks, which is why it is important to know what you want as well as the processes involved. Here is everything you need to know on how to open a business. 
<h3>1. Work on Your Business Idea</h3>
On your quest to start your own business in the United Kingdom, the first thing you need to do is to get your business idea right. Without a business idea, there would be no business to start. The business idea can be about a new product or service. It can also be about providing products or services that are better and more affordable than competitors. 

<div id="attachment_10059" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10059 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/07/business-people-writing.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333" /> Business people brainstorming</div>

You need to brainstorm and come up with great business ideas or improve the business ideas of others. For instance, if you are thinking of how to open a hair salon business in the UK, this is a great idea as everyone needs to get their hair done. However, you will need to think of ways to make your hair salon unique, and stand out from other hair salons. 

It is difficult to get a brand-new business idea out of the blue, which is why many people struggle to get great concepts to build their brand or business around. If you are in this category, the best thing you can do is to brainstorm many ideas.

Almost all businesses and companies today have some sort of online presence, so you need to keep this in mind when brainstorming your ideas. Many things are now being done online, and creating your business without that in mind might send you out of business in the next couple of years. Research has shown that 77 percent of internet users in the UK <a href="https://www.twenga-solutions.com/en/insights/ecommerce-united-kingdom-facts-figures-2016/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">made a purchase online</a>, so it is important to create a business that will change with the current trend of the world. 
<h3>2. Assess Your Situation</h3>
The next thing you need to do is to assess your situation. This is where you need to consider if you have the flexibility or time required to start your own business in UK. Will you run the business part-time or full-time? Will the new business be suitable for your commitments and family? With the right answers to these questions, you will have a clearer view of the kind of business you want to start. 

 As we said earlier, starting a new business in the UK is not easy, as it requires a lot of resilience, hard work, and time. As such, you need to assess your situation and be realistic about it. If you are not able to dedicate all of your time to the business (maybe you are engaged with other things), you might have to employ someone to handle some parts of your business for you. 
<h3>3. Writing Your Business Plan</h3>
Without adequate planning, it would be almost important or very difficult to achieve anything, and the business world is not an exception. You need to write a comprehensive plan for the first few years of your business. This plan will include your strategies as well as your marketing plan. 

<div id="attachment_10060" align="alignnone" width="2560"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10060 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/07/planning-AK27S4N-scaled.jpg" alt="businessman creating business plan starting his own business" width="2560" height="1707" /> Serious businessman writing a plan</div>

It is important to plan your business because it will help you know some vital things you need to run the business, such as how much you will need to charge, the number of customers you will need, as well as the growth rate of your business. 

When planning your business, you should also outline your target audience and describe the market. Do not forget to list out your competitions also. Other things you should plan include your production costs, pricing, ads and marketing expenditure, running costs, and more. Analyzing all of these will help you get a rough estimate of your profits. 

With the adequate planning of your business, you will be able to foresee potential pitfalls. Creating a detailed business plan will help you to succeed where many startups have been failing. 
<h3>4. The Name of Your Business or Company</h3>
After brainstorming on the business idea and writing a great business plan, the next thing you need to do is to get the business name. <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/how-to-come-up-with-catchy-business-names/">Finding a great name for your business</a> or company is essential, as it will help you to stand out while showing the personality of your brand or business. 

The name of your business should be unique, which means you have to be creative. It should also be appealing to your target audience. When crafting your business name, you also need to think of your online presence. The name of your business should be easy to recall, and it should be something that people are looking for online. Hence, you would need to host your business online and create a business site too. 
<h3>5. Market Research</h3>
Whether you are starting with a brand new business idea or you are improving on the ideas of others, you would have a target market or audience. If you want to stay ahead of your competition, then market research is essential. 

<div id="attachment_10062" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10062 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/07/marketing-research.jpg" alt="market research data to open a business in uk" width="2000" height="1500" /> Market research</div>

Market research will help you to understand your rivals, target audience, target market, as well as your industry. Extensive research of the market will have a significant impact on your business structure, customer demographics, resources, and pricing. 

You need to find out from your target audience if your business idea or product creates interest. Asking people you do not know is better, as you would get much better responses and honest results. Carrying out extensive research on your target audience, rivals, and industry will significantly increase your chances of succeeding, as the results of your research will make your business model more feasible. 
<h3>6. Choose a Legal Structure</h3>
The next step in your quest on how to open a business in the UK is to choose a <a href="https://www.wellersaccountants.co.uk/blog/what-are-the-different-types-of-business-structures-in-the-uk#:~:text=There%2520are%25204%2520main%2520types,Sole%2520trader&amp;text=Limited%2520liability%2520partnership" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">legal structure</a>. You will need to choose a legal structure for your business from the following:
<ul>
 	<li>Sole Trader: This is the simplest and cheapest legal structure for a business. After starting your business in the UK, you would need to register with HM Revenue and Customs.  </li>
 	<li>Partnership: This is the right business structure for those that want to start a business or company with business partners or partner.</li>
 	<li>Limited Liability Partnership: This is like a business partnership but with a limited liability company.</li>
 	<li>Limited Company: This business structure is complex, and it has many admins. However, it helps to legally distinguish you from your business. </li>
</ul>
You need to consider the legal business structures above and choose the one that is best for your business. 
<h3>7. Manage Your Finances</h3>
After choosing a legal structure for your business, the next thing you need to do is to assess your finances. In addition to requiring a lot of time and effort, starting up your own business in the UK requires a lot of money too. You should assess your funds and make sure you avoid overspending. 

Try to keep costs at a minimum and release funds for only important things. You need finance to start up a business in the UK. If you are a resident of the United Kingdom, you can get a business loan from a bank. You can also look for other ways to raise funds, such as through family and friends. You can also rely on angel investors for funds. 
<h3>8. Get Compliant and Get Help</h3>
When all is set and done, you want to make sure you satisfy all regulatory issues such as licensing, health &amp; safety, data protection, and more. The UK government has also <a href="https://www.greatbusiness.gov.uk/regulation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">outlined some tools</a> to take you through this process. Seek guidance and advice in starting and running a business in UK. You can also talk to business mentors who have been in business for some time. 
<h3>Frequently Asked Questions</h3>
<h4>How to start a company in the UK?</h4>
Starting a company in the UK involves few simple steps, which include getting the name of your company, registering the company, completing all legalities, choosing the business structure, planning, and setting up an online presence. 
<h4>How to set up a business in the UK?</h4>
To set up a business in the UK, you would need to check for the legality of the business, write the business plan, choose the business structure, choose the business name, register the business, assess your situation and finances, and get all the professional help you can. 
<h4>Can a foreigner start up a business in the UK?</h4>
Yes, a foreigner can open a business in the UK. The process for registering a business is the same for UK residents and non-UK residents. 

Conclusion

With the tips provided in this guide, you can open a business in the UK without any issues. Starting your own business is a great idea, as this would help you to serve people much better, solve some issues many are facing, and more while making money off it.

How to Open a Business in the UK

Hands of developers discussing interface of mobile app, view from above

Discussing mobile app

Mobile marketing a key tactic to grow your business. In this blog, walk through detailed step-by-step process to use mobile marketing for your business.

7 Innovative Ways to Put Mobile Marketing to Use for Your Business

Before 1991, your mobile was just a communication gadget. Back then people would have laughed if you said, you use mobile for marketing. But today, they’ll laugh if you say you DON’T use mobile for marketing.

It’s not that people’s unnecessary reactions should matter to any business owner. But this shows how the internet has revolutionized the entire realm of marketing. Today, consumers spend <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/24/smartphones-72percent-of-people-will-use-only-mobile-for-internet-by-2025.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">70% of their daily lives on their mobiles</a>. It has become their medium for learning, buying, and carrying out almost every task of their life. So as a business owner or a  marketer you NEED to invest in mobile marketing activities for your business.

Irrespective of your niche,  strategic mobile web marketing will ensure that you reach your target audience at the right time. But marketing on mobile isn’t as simple as using one. You need to grasp several marketing concepts, understand your sales funnels, know about existing trends, etc to plan a strategy for your business.

Sounds daunting? Don’t worry we have got you covered.  

In this blog, we will walk you through a detailed step-by-step process to teach you the most effective way to use mobile marketing for your business.
<h2>1. Be Adaptable</h2>
According to recent research, <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/330695/number-of-smartphone-users-worldwide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">50% of the world's population own a mobile</a>.

So let’s consider a situation. 

A consumer urgently needs a particular product/service that you sell. He is travelling on public transport when he decided to browse the available options. Opens his phone and pulls up Google. He searches for that product and your website pops up in the results. 

But apparently, your website is only responsive to laptop or desktop screens.

Will he open his laptop/desktop to view your e-commerce store? 

Or will he just leave your site and open another one that has a mobile-friendly interface?

The answer is quite obvious.

If your website isn’t adaptive to mobile screens you’re losing out on almost 50% of the world's population who could have been your customers

So the primary step to using mobile marketing activities is to create a mobile responsive site/e-commerce store.

All website designing sites have separate options to design a mobile-friendly layout like <a href="https://www.wix.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Wix</a>. 

Using these design platforms, you can create two different layouts for every gadget like mobiles, tablets, and PCs. It will make your site more responsive and easily navigatable on different types of mobiles.
<h5>READ ALSO: <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/must-follow-marketing-strategies-for-small-businesses/">MUST FOLLOW MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES</a></h5>
<h2>2. The Content Matters</h2>
Mobile <a href="https://neilpatel.com/blog/14-mobile-marketing-tips-to-drive-leads-and-sales/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">screens measure differently than PCs.</a>

The measurements even vary from company to company and even with different models.

<div id="attachment_10033" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10033 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/06/m5.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1334" /> business executive using her smartphone</div>

So the image that fits perfectly on a computer screen becomes an extremely pixelated one that blocks the entire mobile screen.

This is the main reason why web design websites have different settings for mobile devices and PCs.

When designing content for your website/e-commerce store. You need to consider these differences.

On PC, multiple tabs and links are easy to find. However, on mobile, they often open in separate screens and divert users from the existing screens.

Therefore, you need to create <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2020/04/landing-page-design/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">compelling landing pages</a> that inform and convert, without multiple redirects.

Your headlines need to be short and to the point so they fit perfectly on small mobile screens. 

Creating Responsive Visuals is extremely important as they often determine how long the customer stays on your website. This is a crucial factor that determines your Google search rankings and helps convert leads into sales.
<h2>3. Go Social</h2>
There are multiple usages of mobiles.

But what is the most popular use that keeps people hooked 24/7 on their mobiles?

Yes, it’s social media.

As a mobile user, you may associate social media with building connections, finding new friends, entertainment, and awareness.

But as marketers, you NEED to associate social media as being the best tool for leading sales.

Be it Instagram, Reddit, Facebook, or Twitter every social media has a monthly active user base of millions. So not using social media as a part of your mobile web marketing makes you lose out on a huge consumer base.
<h3>To leverage mobile marketing activities to their fullest, you need to devise effective social media strategies.</h3>
There are multiple ways in which you can use social media for mobile marketing. Some of the most popular ones are -
<ul>
 	<li> Influencer marketing - Collaborating with popular social media celebs who are also known as influencers exposes you to their huge loyal fan bases. It is a great way to promote your service/products as well as build trust with your target audience.</li>
 	<li>Creating A Brand Using Content - It’s 2021 and having a website/e-commerce store isn’t enough for your business. You need to create accounts on different social media and post consistent content related to your brand and niche. It helps you to educate the people about your brand as well as informs them about the need for your product/service in their lives.</li>
</ul>
<h2>4. Use Unique Mobile Features</h2>
“You can stand out if you know how to be different.”

It may sound crazy but this quote can ACTUALLY help mobile marketers to drive sales beyond their imagination.

Yes, being unique is the best way to stand out and achieve immense success when it comes to mobile marketing.

So, marketers and business owners need to identify the unique features of mobile before launching their mobile marketing activities.

Mobile phones have a variety of unique features that differentiate them from PCs or computers. But which of these many features can be specifically beneficial to marketers?

As many of you have guessed by now, it’s SMS.

The feature of mobiles that allows users to send messages to each other without an internet connection is probably a hidden gem for marketers.

Marketers can collect the user's mobile numbers or IP addresses through various ways, like surveys, website pop-ups. Then they can use these to send the users innovative messages about a product launch or any new updates.

However, in this method business owners and marketers should be extremely cautious about user security and should refrain from relying on third-party sources.

Because relying on third-party sources to leverage the benefit of SMS marketing can in return make them vulnerable to severe data breaches.
<h2>5. Make QR Codes </h2>
QR Codes or "Quick Response" codes are great ways to allow mobile users to transfer user data in bulk.

They are <a href="https://neilpatel.com/blog/14-mobile-marketing-tips-to-drive-leads-and-sales/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the easiest and most effective way</a> to help mobile users navigate across your various social media platforms.

Using a QR code for your website and posting on your social media is a great way to generate leads from there.

It makes it easier for mobile users to get to your website. Because all they have to do is scan the code instead of switching their existing app and finding your website on Google.
<h2>6. Use Applications</h2>
We see various mobile ads display multiple ads in their free version. Often these ads aren’t of the app but other websites and e-commerce stores.

<div id="attachment_10032" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-10032 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/06/m4.jpg" alt="mobile marketing applications" width="2000" height="1333" /> woman sitting and using her mobile apps</div>

It is a great way to attract leads because most mobile users install multiple apps daily.

The most effective way to promote your product/service to mobile users is by creating advertisements and pushing them through the trending mobile applications.

However, business owners and marketers should ensure that this advertisement method targets the interested user instead of bombarding anyone and everyone with ads. For this, they need to have a precise idea about the psychographics of their target user. This will help them map out, the apps that their target consumers are most likely to install.

Once they know the most preferred apps by their customers, they can invest in them and push various advertisements to drive sales.
<h2>7. Create Mobile Apps</h2>
Using paid advertisements and pushing them through different apps is beneficial for brands irrespective of their niche.

However, for product-related brands creating separate mobile apps can be a great mobile web marketing tactic.

Business owners and marketers can use AI to design apps that allow users to visualize the presence of their products in their lives.

Major brands like IKEA, Asain paints, etc have implemented this method that allows users to scan their rooms and see how they will look with these brand’s products.

This is the best way to educate the people about the need for their products in their life and build trust with their target audience.

Conclusion 

Mobiles aren’t just communication devices anymore.

Today they’re the medium of carrying out almost every function of our human lives. From education, business, campaigns, and even protests. The 21st century uses mobile for carrying out each of these.

So when the world is literally running on mobiles, why shouldn’t your marketing do so?

At the end of the day, sales aren’t just the result of one particular marketing strategy.

It’s the harsh truth that not every marketing strategy you’ll employ will give you the best results. But it’s their cumulative effort that will help you in upscaling your business.

Sales happen when business owners and marketers use multiple strategies and make each of them work out in different ways.

So it is extremely important that marketers and business owners consider every option available to them and try to leverage their best advantage.

The same goes for mobile marketing, following the steps we mentioned in the blog can ACTUALLY bring you unimaginable sales.

Because ultimately mobiles are where you’ll find most of your target audience looking at almost 24/7.

How To Use Mobile Marketing For Your Business ?

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Digital marketing strategy

Business looking for ways to attract customers for their business online; here are must follow marketing strategies for small business to get killer results

Must Follow Marketing Strategies For Small Businesses ?

Do you know why most small businesses perish in the long run? What if I tell you that <a href="https://profitworks.ca/small-business-sales-and-marketing-resources/blog/marketing-strategy/585-why-do-businesses-need-marketing.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">49% of ventures perish </a>because of not doing ONE thing for their business. This single thing can ACTUALLY take you from being a small business owner to the founder of a millionaire company. Yet, 49 out of every 100 business owners don’t do it. If you want to be the 50th one, then let me spill the secret to you.

<div id="attachment_9873" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-9873 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/06/marketstrat2.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333" /> Business people in a marketing strategy meeting</div>
<h2>A well-planned marketing strategy can single-handedly save and grow your business</h2>
Yes, it’s true! If you know how to develop <a href="https://www.business2community.com/small-business/3-reasons-why-your-small-business-needs-a-marketing-strategy-02093827" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a sustainable marketing strategy</a>, you know the secret behind acing your business.

Tell me if this sounds familiar to you - After a series of self-doubt, internal monologues, and days of research, you finally decide to invest and materialize that business idea. As soon as you launch your venture, you end up getting quality customers within a short time. You deliver on all your promises and leave the customers extremely satisfied.

Once those deals are closed, you're again back to square one. Because apparently, not a lot of people know about your business. Those who do are either not sure whether they want your service/product in their lives. Or, in the worst-case scenario, they don't trust you enough!
<h2>Marketing is the sole thing that can solve this universal problem of business owners</h2>
But here’s a catch, how do you curate marketing strategy ideas for small businesses? If you’re someone who is still searching for the answer, then we can help you out. Indeed, we don’t know anything about your business. But you do, right? No one knows your business better than you!

So we will help YOU find the best marketing strategy ideas for your small business all by YOURSELF in just three simple steps.
<h3>1. Who Will Spend The Money - Building a Buyer Persona </h3>
A business is founded by one person but sustained by many. The most important people who help sustain the business are its customers. Its customers are those for whom the business exists in the first place.

<div id="attachment_9876" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-9876 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/06/marketstrat1.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333" /> Teamwork working on Marketing Project Together</div>

To be successful in marketing, you need clarity about the people who are going to spend money on your products/services. So the first step for developing marketing strategy ideas for small businesses is <a href="https://cmasolutions.com/blog/5-ways-to-identify-the-right-target-audience-for-your-brand/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">to know who your customers are.</a>

 No two businesses serve the same people. Even if they belong to the same niche, each business has different customers.

To know your customers better, you need to create a <a href="https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/what-is-a-buyer-persona-and-why-is-it-important/507404/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Buyer Persona.</a>

"A Buyer Persona is a hypothetical model of the ideal customer whom your business wants to serve."
<h4>To find your ideal customer, you need to:</h4>
<ul>
 	<li>Understand what product/service your business sells. </li>
 	<li>What problem does your product/service solve? How will it improve your customer's existing life?</li>
 	<li>Who will ideally be interested in buying from you?</li>
 	<li>What are the demographics of the ideal buyer?</li>
 	<li>What are their buying habits? Where are they likely to look for solutions when they have problems?</li>
 	<li>What is their psychographics? (Values, preferences, lifestyle, personality).</li>
</ul>
Once you have a detailed answer to all these questions, you’ll get to know the best way and place to invest in marketing.
<h4>The easiest way for obtaining these answers are:</h4>
<ul>
 	<li>Conducting market surveys through social media.</li>
 	<li>Researching on Case Studies of successful businesses of your niche.</li>
 	<li>Studying the trends of the industry.</li>
</ul>
Now you know who the ideal person is who will spend their money on your business. This knowledge brings us to our second stop -  telling people that your business exists for them.
<h5>READ ALSO: <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/how-digital-marketing-campaign-agencies-can-help-grow-your-small-business/">HOW DIGITAL MARKETING AGENCIES CAN HELP GROW YOUR SMALL BUSINESS ?</a></h5>
<h3>2. How Will They Know - Creating Content</h3>
It's 2021, and you need to find a solution to your problem. You simply pick up your phone and pull up Google. Immediately your feed is filled with hundreds of results offering great solutions. You click on one of them and decide to spend your money and get your problem solved.

That’s the power of content. 

It makes people who aren’t even aware of your brand’s existence spend money to buy YOUR product/services.

The content was previously considered to be a part of mobile marketing strategies for small businesses. But today is the only marketing tool that requires the least investment but brings the best results.

So you need to create an online base for your small business and create content. Creating content will serve three major purposes of marketing-
<ul>
 	<li>Inform the unaware audience about your business.</li>
 	<li>It will show them how your product can benefit their lives.</li>
 	<li>It will build trust with the existing as well as new customers.</li>
</ul>
 If you're wondering how to leverage the unmeasurable benefits of content, then here's a list of how to do that -
<ul>
 	<li>
<h4>Build your website/e-commerce store</h4>
</li>
</ul>
The pandemic has changed the entire business industry. We have witnessed several small businesses die out because of it. On the other hand, some of them have reached the top -tiers even in the worst times.

That’s the power of the internet. Thus, irrespective of what you sell, you need to have a base online. Creating a website/e-commerce store with a great landing page is the best and the easiest way to let your clients know about your business.
<ul>
 	<li>
<h4>Create the content on social media</h4>
</li>
</ul>
Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Reddit, etc. Name any social media, and you'll see that each of them has an active user base in the billions. So imagine how many people you can reach through promotional posts on social media! Creating social media content is the best advertising method for small businesses. It requires no investment but yields returns that can ACTUALLY end up funding your entire venture!
<ul>
 	<li>
<h4> Email Marketing </h4>
</li>
</ul>
Email marketing is the best example that shows that being traditional doesn’t mean being backdated. It’s a great way to inform your existing customers about new offers, product launches, or sale seasons. Building an email list is the most effective way to convert existing customers into long-term retainers.
<ul>
 	<li>
<h4>Blogging</h4>
</li>
</ul>
Yes, you may not realize it, but all we see on the internet are various forms of blogs. Blogs are great for attracting leads and educating your target audience about your business. An SEO-optimized and well-written blog with a clear CTA can convert leads faster than any other method. They are also a great way to build trust with your audience and create a brand identity.
<h5>READ ALSO: <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/social-media-marketing-ideas-for-restaurants-to-promote-their-signature-dish/">SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING IDEAS FOR RESTAURANT BUSINESS</a></h5>
<h3>3. Invest In Growth - Promotional Strategies For Small Businesses</h3>
You have the best buyer persona. You create content consistently on various social media platforms and have an engaging newsletter and informing blog with a clear CTA.

What is the worst thing that can happen now? You are not attracting leads, or your leads are not converting into clients.

Here’s the thing, you can have the best product to offer and create the best content to inform people about it. But if you don’t promote it well, it won’t yield any results.

<div id="attachment_9877" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-9877 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/06/marketstrat5.jpg" alt="marketer doing email marketing to promote the business online" width="2000" height="1333" /> Man working with a laptop. Emails list on the screen, office background</div>

Almost every social media works according to an algorithm. The algorithm drives the posts and decides which one will be shown to whom. For small business owners, it is very difficult to beat the algorithm and reach a huge audience through their posts. Thus, you need to be aware of the various advertising methods for small businesses. 

Because of their algorithm-based functioning, every social media offers paid advertisement opportunities to business owners. As someone looking to develop a successful marketing strategy, you NEED to invest in paid promotional strategies for small businesses.
<h3>The easiest and most effective paid promotional strategies are :</h3>
<h4>1. Google Ads</h4>
When in doubt, Google it out! We all have heard this phrase, right? Apparently, small business owners can profit out of it. 

Investing in <a href="https://bit.ly/2U95het">Google ads </a>ensures that when your target customer is searching for your niche-related keywords, your website pop-ups as their top search result. If you have an attractive website with informative and engaging content, Google ads will be like a cherry on top. 

However, Google ads require an intermediate level of technical understanding. You need to know about SEO and an eye for reading  Google analytics to be able to run successful Google ad campaigns.
<h4>2. Facebook Ads.</h4>
Neil Patel reportedly confessed <a href="https://neilpatel.com/what-is-facebook-advertising/?lang_geo=in%23whyfbads">Facebook advertisement to be one of their major leads converting factors. </a>

<a href="https://en-gb.facebook.com/business/ads">Facebook ads</a> are evidently considered<a href="https://neilpatel.com/what-is-facebook-advertising/?lang_geo=in%23whyfbads"> 96% more effective than</a> any other form of advertisement.

If you’re a small business with a relatively low budget, Facebook ads should be your go-to.

Because, unlike Google ads which require an intermediate level of technical knowledge, anyone with a basic sense of social media can create Facebook ads.

While it’s easy to create the ads, you must remember that it’s not that easy to achieve high conversion rates.

Before investing in Facebook ads, you need to have a proper strategy in mind. If you have a precise buyer persona, you can effectively succeed through this most preferred mobile marketing strategy for small businesses.

Conclusion 

Marketing is not easy. But neither is running a business. 

Yet you choose to start one.

So why not nail both of them?

So keep learning and experimenting with different ways. Start with free methods and use their earnings to invest in paid ones. Every industry is evolving, so make sure you use multiple strategies to leverage new trends as well as existing ones.

Honestly, there's nothing called "the best marketing strategy." Some methods have brought effective results to various entrepreneurs.

At the end of the day, the method you can work out for yourself is the best for your small business.

Must Follow Marketing Strategies For Small Businesses

A man on a ladder fixing a painted name sign onto a bracket on a shopfront.

A man on a ladder fixing a painted name sign onto a bracket on a shopfront. ,Sign Writer,England

The right business names can make or break your company. Here is a guide on how to come up with catchy and creative business name ideas for your business.

How To Come Up With Catchy Business Names To Outstand The Market

On a summer day, a software developer and his team were working on designing software for selling books online. Fast forward to a couple of years. The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-amazon-history-facts-2017-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">developer no longer delivers books from his garage</a>. Instead, today he is indisputably one of the richest men on this planet.

As some of us might have guessed. The story is about the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos.

Now imagine what if Bezos named his brand as “Online Book Store” instead of Amazon? Do you think that name would have allowed him to expand his venture to its present form?

This example should be enough to comprehend the importance of a catchy business names.

Coining a name is hard. It's a zillion times harder when it's your business name. Often business owners rely on random AI-powered name generators to find new business names. Sorry to break it to you, but these random business names can ACTUALLY hurt your sales.

Business names give your brand identity. They are the first factor that creates an impression about your business in the minds of customers.

Often, business names sum up the entire purpose and function of the brand and represent the company in the niche industry.
<h2>How can you come up with business name ideas?</h2>
After all, not everyone is an eponym like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ford" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Henry Ford</a>. If you have clicked on this blog after reading the title, then you must be someone who needs to name their business or need some business name help.

<div id="attachment_9842" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-9842 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/06/names2.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333" /> Business people brainstorming ideas using a chart</div>

While we can't name your business on your behalf. We can take you through the step-by-step process so that you can do the needful of coming up with a new business name yourself.
<h2>So let's begin the walk of ideas for finding the perfect business names </h2>
<h3>1. What is Your Brand All About?</h3>
Before you decide on a new business name, you need to figure out what your business embodies. 
<ul>
 	<li>It's about finding the ideal purpose behind your brand - are you a solopreneur trying to establish a personal brand? Or do you have a team of professionals trying to sell your service or product?</li>
</ul>
Being clear about the purpose you want to serve and how you want to go about it will help you understand the true motive behind the existence of your business.

This knowledge will help you decide <a href="https://bit.ly/3zyBagO" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">whether to use your personal name </a>or come up with a catchy business name.
<ul>
 	<li>In general, using your personal name or surname as your new business name is best suited for solopreneurs or influencers who are trying to market themselves and get their content out to consumers. It's beneficial if you don't have a specific niche and want to explore different sectors as you grow.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
 	<li>Using a catchy business name, on the other hand, is best for business owners who are dedicated to solving specific problems. It can also help brands that want to sell a niche-specific product in the market.</li>
</ul>
<h3>2. What Is Your Brand’s True Identity?</h3>
A catchy company name is <a href="http://www.marketingmo.com/creative-brand-development/how-to-choose-a-great-brand-name/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the first factor that forms an impression of your brand.</a>

So it's important that your business name reflects the values of your company. The easiest way to do this is to find out your brand's mission statement and purpose. 

What is the ideal purpose that my business should serve?

What problems do I want my services/products to solve?

Probably, the most underrated method of finding business name ideas. But these methods can be useful for service-based businesses where the purpose of the brand is to educate, inform and help.

For example - The online headline maker has named its brand "Capitalize My Title". When you read the name, you can easily understand the purpose behind the existence of the brand.

Pro Tip - Use verbs for the problem your business is trying to solve. Arrange the verbs so that they form a concise summary of your company's function.
<h3>3. Find The Perfect Words</h3>
What you say matters. But how you say it matters even more, especially in the business world. The art of choosing the perfect words is often the most underrated virtue of business owners. The ability to choose the perfect words can help you come up with the perfect business name ideas.

<div id="attachment_9776" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-9776 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/06/r1.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1125" /> Group determinging their business name.</div>

When choosing the perfect words, you need to make sure that the words are not difficult to pronounce or spell. In the age of digitalization, brands survive by selling their products and services worldwide through the internet. Refrain from using multiple words or long phrases. They limit your online searchability. Also, using difficult words can make it hard for people to remember your brand.
<h3>Here are some tips to find the perfect words for your business name:</h3>
<ul>
 	<li>
<h4>Choose the niche-specific keyword of your service/product  </h4>
</li>
</ul>
Example - The brand, based on art and literature, named their company <a href="https://electricliterature.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Electric Literature.</a>  Thus they cleverly used the word "Literature" which is the main keyword of their niche.
<ul>
 	<li>
<h4>Use acronyms for your brand</h4>
</li>
</ul>
They are easier to remember and quirky. Especially if your brand name is made up of multiple words or it is your personal name/surname. Using niche-related words and acronyms works for every industry and makes your business stand out from the crowd.

 Example - The famous fashion brand Hennes and Mauritz AB is known by its acronym <a href="https://www.hm.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">H &amp; M</a>.
<ul>
 	<li>
<h4>Embrace versatility </h4>
</li>
</ul>
In the beginning, we saw how the name "Amazon '', which has almost no relation to an online bookstore, indirectly helped Bezos grow his business and expand it into its current multi-dollar form.

Using niche-specific words is a great way to convey the function of the brand. However, using extremely specific words can cause you to lose opportunities to outsource and expand your business.

Therefore, you need to come up with a catchy company name that is niche-specific but also provides the opportunity for expansion.
<h3>4. Is Your Business Name Marketable?</h3>
You can have the best service or product that you offer to your customers. But no one will come to your business if you don't market yourself well.

Marketing is the most important aspect that can decide the fate of your business.

Deciding on<a href="https://smallbusiness.chron.com/become-marketable-brand-23582.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> a catchy business name is also a crucial part of marketing.</a>

In this age of digitalization, it is very important for business owners to come up with catchy company names that will not only resonate well with customers but also have a good chance of being marketed.
<h5>READ ALSO: <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/quick-steps-for-authentic-brand-building/">QUICK STEPS FOR AUTHENTIC BRAND BUILDING</a></h5>
To find business names, companies need to:
<ul>
 	<li>
<h4>Check domain name availability </h4>
</li>
</ul>
 Let's face the hard truth. The year is 2021, and if you don't have an online base for your business, you will lose a base of thousands of customers. So before deciding on a unique business name, business owners need to confirm that it has appropriate domain availability. 

This is beneficial for any type of business, especially e-commerce businesses that aim to open e-stores and sell their products online.
<ul>
 	<li>
<h4>Ensure social media username availability </h4>
</li>
</ul>
Social media has an active user base of billions of people. Marketers predict that they will single-handedly dominate almost every existing marketing strategy in the next decade. They are the best platforms for various marketing strategies like content and influencer marketing.

To take full advantage of this immense potential.

 Business owners need to create their business accounts on various social media platforms. For this, they need to check the availability of their business name as a username on them.

Having the same name on all platforms provides consistency and helps build trust with the audience.
<ul>
 	<li>
<h4>Check the legal loopholes</h4>
</li>
</ul>
Businesses don't like legal violations. Especially when it comes to intellectual property loss or copyright issues.

So, it is always safe to check the trademark of the business name idea before deciding on one.

This can be easily done by checking the availability of the name in various local, national, or international trademark organizations.

Pro-Tip - If you want to avoid the tedious process of legal trademark documentation. You can simply go to Google and type in "your region" Trademark. With this option, you can also register your business name and find out its availability.
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
Building a business is like building an empire. One brick at a time. After years of planning and struggle, you will finally see the empire shining before your eyes. Among the thousands of decisions, you will have to make as a business owner. Finding a new business name helps and deciding on your business name is the first and most crucial one that begins this journey.

Regardless of which industry you choose, there is a high probability that there will be extreme competition. This oversaturation of the market is often extremely detrimental to the fate of a business. A memorable business name that reflects the purpose and values of the brand can help avoid this.

This is because a brand name is not just a mere identification factor. It is one of the most important factors that establish the company's unique position in the oversaturated industry.

It is an incredibly short summary of the brand and reflects what it can offer to the market. Therefore, every business owner needs to start investing time and effort behind the business name before actually inaugurating their business to the world.

How To Come Up With A Business Name ?

Digital marketing is a cost-effective way for businesses to be noticed. Learn how digital marketing campaign agency grow your small business is here.

How Digital Marketing Campaign Agencies Grow Your Small Business ?

How Digital Marketing Agencies Can Help Grow Your Small Business?

Closeup of a man choosing wooden dice with smiling face out of three options in a conceptual image of customer satisfaction.

Conceptual image of customer satisfaction

One of the best ways to beat your competition is through online reviews. Here are tips on how to use online business directory to beat your competition. 

How to Use Online Business Directory to Beat Your Competition ?

According to a <a href="https://www.zippia.com/employer/how-much-bad-reputation-cost-business-infographic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">report by Zippia.com</a>, every star increases a business gets in an online review results in a 5% to 9% increase in revenue. Doesn’t that increase sound good? One of the major focuses of every business, in addition to meeting the need of their customers, is to increase their revenue. Hence, if that increase sounds good, then you need to start paying close attention to your online reviews. 

There are millions of businesses out there in the world, probably even in your niche, which means you have many competitors to deal with. Even when you offer unique services and products and do not have competitors yet, it is just a matter of time before a new brand will emerge to offer the same services and products that you offer. When this happens, what will you do?

Well, one of the best ways to beat your competition is through online reviews. The online review section is more than just a place where customers rate your product or services. It is a place where you can actually connect with your customers. Through online reviews, you would be able to know who your customers are, how effective your product or service is, how your customers perceive your brand or product, what they want, how you can serve them better, and more. 

A great tool you can use to get all this information is <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/">RateUsOnline.</a> It is a Free online business directory, business review website, and helps small businesses with digital solutions like website development, Search Engine optimisation and advertisements.  In this article, we will share with you some tips on how to use online reviews to beat your competition. 
<h2>How to Beat Your Competitions Using Online Reviews</h2>
Online reviews are essential to every online business. It is the only way most new buyers can decide whether to buy your product or not. In fact, no one would want to go ahead to spend their hard-earned money to purchase a product with only a one-star rating from hundreds or thousands of reviews. This is why you need to pay close attention to your online reviews, as too many bad reviews will give your competitors an edge over you. Here are a couple of tips to help you beat your competition using online reviews. 
<h3>Do Not Ignore Reviews</h3>
One of the best ways to show your customer that you care about them is by listening to them. When you listen to your customers, it makes them feel that you care about them, and this will keep them running back to you. If you want to make your customers feel this love and care from you, then you should respond to every review. 

<div id="attachment_9774" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-9774 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/06/r2.jpg" alt="review shared by customer on paper" width="2000" height="1342" /> five-star rating on paper sheet.</div>

Do not ignore any review and do not leave any review unattended. According to research by <a href="https://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BrightLocal</a>, 78% of customers believe that a manager or owner of a business responding to reviews is a crucial factor. 

When responding to reviews, you should keep in mind that the response is not only for the reviewer but also for your potential customers. People hardly buy things these days without spending a couple of minutes in the review section to see what previous customers are saying about the product. When you respond to every review, you are passing a message to your potential customers. 

Leaving helpful and polite responses will show your customers and prospective customers that you really care. This will leave you with happy customers that will attract more customers for you. 
<h3>Response to Negative Reviews</h3>
Every review section is bound to have at least one negative review. Regardless of how your product or service is, there must be someone that will not be satisfied with it. It might not be the product itself, but probably your customer service, delivery rate, faulty products due to logistics, and more. When you see negative reviews, you should not shy away from them. You should <a href="https://blog.yelp.com/2021/04/how-to-respond-to-negative-reviews?utm_source=biz_blog&amp;utm_medium=yelp_blog&amp;utm_content=blog_text_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">respond to negative reviews</a>. 

Many customers will not even trust a perfect five-star overall rating, as it would even look suspicious. Hence, a negative review is not a bad thing, as it can help you earn more business. According to a <a href="https://www.womply.com/impact-of-online-reviews-on-small-business-revenue/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">study by Womply</a>, businesses that maintain a 3.5 to 4.5-star overall rating earn the most revenue. The revenue of a business can even increase by 13% when 15% to 20% of its reviews are negative. People search for negative reviews in review sections to know what previous customers are not happy about as well as how you handled the situation. 

You should respond to negative reviews with kind words and help your customers to address the issue. When other customers and potential customers see your response, it would show that you care and you are working to resolve the issue. 
<h3>Personalize Responses</h3>
This is one of the things that make many customers feel a business actually cares about them. How do you feel when you receive an email from a reputable, large company addressing you by your name? Businesses and companies have been using this approach to win their customers' hearts potential customers through email marketing, and you can apply the same technique when responding to your reviews. 

Personalizing your responses will make your reviews stand out. It would give you an edge over your competition, as your customers would not want to be in the arms of another business but your loving arms. 

<div id="attachment_9791" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-9791 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/06/rev-1.jpg" alt="personalized responsive shared by business owner on business directory site" width="2000" height="1380" /> Online review</div>

There are different ways you can personalize your responses. The first is to spot and pick out what the customer is complaining about and resolve it. When replying to them, make sure you address the problem of each review specifically. Do not use a single message to respond to several customers at the same time. With this approach, the customers will know that you read their reviews and you care about providing them with the best service, products, or experience. 

The second approach is to respond to them with their name. The name of the customer is likely to be in their review, so you can address them by their name when responding to their review. For instance, you could say “Hello Isaac, thank you for contacting us…” This would actually make them know that you read their message and you care for your customers. When potential customers come and see such treats, they would definitely want to get on the train. 
<h3>Resolve Issues</h3>
Replying or responding to your reviews (both negative and positive) is not enough. There is a reason why customers take out time to write reviews. One of those reasons is to compliment you for the great job you are doing, and another reason is to point out some of the areas where you need to make improvements.

Reviews, especially negative reviews, have very useful feedback that you can use to improve your services or product quality. Many positive reviews also come with constructive and insightful criticism that you can pick one or two things from. For example, a restaurant business can get a 5-star review from a customer for a great meal, but the customer might also add that he or she found dirt in their food. Reading that review will help you spot the issue and work towards preventing the reoccurrence of such. 

Hence, whenever you read reviews, try to resolve the issue of your customers. If it is something that you would need to fix in the long term, make a plan to fix it. You should not leave any problem unresolved, as you do not want to receive complaints about a particular issue consistently. That alone can keep potential customers away. 
<h3>Respond Politely</h3>
Undoubtedly, many people do not know how to talk politely; they can be harsh and rude. As a business owner, trust me, you will encounter people like that. Some of them can even make it difficult for you to keep your cool, as they will not only leave a 1-star rating for you but also write things that are off point, exaggerated, and more. However, you can calm everything down with a polite response. 

You should avoid responding with rudeness also, as this could be a turn-off for your potential customers. Regardless of what they say and how they react, a polite response is always the best way to resolve such issues. With professional and polite responses, you would attract more customers and grow your business. When your existing customers even see how you handle such situations, they would not have any reason to leave. 

Even the rude customer might even come back to be one of your favourite customers when you respond to them professionally and politely. Instead of getting defensive, you should diplomatically offer advice to other customers that might come across the review. 

Final Thoughts

Every business, both online and brick-and-mortar stores, needs customers to operate. Without customers, your business will not go anywhere. Today, many businesses are online, and the online marketplace is highly competitive. Many companies and businesses are doing all they can to retain their customers and get new customers as well. Since you need customers to grow your business, you need to know how to keep them and attract new ones. One of the best ways to stay ahead of your competition is by paying attention to your online reviews.

With the tips provided in this article, staying ahead of your game should no longer be an issue. With business review sites, business owners will get full insight into how their customers see their business and how they are meeting the needs of their customers.

How to Use Online Reviews to Beat Your Competition ?

Group of serious young multi-ethnic customer service specialists using headsets with microphones and laptops while processing applications

Customer service specialists processing applications

Difficult customers are a challenge as they reflect how target audience see your business. Here are proven tips on how to handle difficult customers ?

How To Handle Difficult Customers Like A Pro - RateUsOnline

Regardless of the type or size of a business, difficult customers are a common occurrence. They tend to be impolite, complain about everything and anything, refuse to pay, ask difficult questions, and whatnot. Difficult customers are a major challenge that can, actually, paint a picture of how your target demographics see your business. The goal is to handle difficult customers effectively, without too much hassle. How to make it happen? Read on to see how to handle difficult customers or clients.
<h2>How to handle difficult customers at work?</h2>
The customer is always right, they say. But some customers are not as easy to handle as others. Dealing with some clients can be stressful and overwhelming, but these situations are bound to happen at one point or another. 

<div id="attachment_9693" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="img-fluid wp-image-9693 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/05/dc3.jpg" alt="How to handle difficult customers at work" width="2000" height="1600" /> woman working on laptop at her workplace feels frustrated</div>

Before we move on to show you how to handle difficult customers at work, it’s important to emphasize the importance of experience. Every difficult customer is an opportunity to learn. Each time you handle one complaint, you have more experience and knowledge for the next one. One of the most positive ways to approach this situation is to consider it as an experience that will make you better at what you do. It may seem difficult at first, but if you keep focusing on this fact it will be easier to do so. 

Now, let’s see how to handle difficult customers at the workplace.
<h3>1. Don’t ignore/dismiss them</h3>
Nobody wants to be ignored or dismissed. So, when a customer is complaining about something you need to let them have their say. Dismissing their complaints could aggravate the whole situation.
<h6>READ ALSO: <a href="https://www.rateusonline.com/handling-negative-customer-reviews-like-a-boss/">Handling Negative Customer Reviews Like A Boss! </a></h6>
<h3>2. Show empathy</h3>
A difficult customer in front of you complaining about this and that may seem like an enemy. But, you need a different approach here. Empathy is crucial. Put yourself in their shoes and picture yourself in the same situation. Would you react the same way? Or, at least, do you understand why they chose to react the way they did? Show them you identify with their problem. Customers will be a lot calmer instantly.
<h3>3. Remain calm</h3>
Some customers don’t pay attention to the way they express their dissatisfaction. This often results in insults directed at employees. Being at the receiving end of one such communication can make your “blood boil”. 

&nbsp;

<img class="img-fluid alignnone wp-image-9692 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/05/dc4.jpg" alt="how to remain calm in front of unhappy customer " width="2000" height="1333" />

You may feel the anger flowing through your veins and decide to respond. But, try to be as calm as you can in this situation. Remaining calm is easier said than done. One thing that can help you is to remember their complaints aren’t personal. They’re not there being difficult because they have something against you. The reason behind their complaint is poor service or product.
<h3>4. Lower your voice</h3>
Sometimes we raise our voices without even noticing. It’s a spontaneous reaction to verbal attacks, you’re trying to defend yourself. However, in order to handle difficult customers successfully, you need to lower your voice. This suggestion goes hand in hand with the previous tip to remain calm. Your calm voice and demeanour will reflect on the difficult customer and their anger will start to dissipate. 
<h3>5. Show interest</h3>
Probably the easiest way to calm down an angry customer is to show interest. You can do so by asking certain questions. For example, you may want to ask how you can help them. It’s also useful to ask questions about specifics of the situation they complained about. 

In some cases, customers are difficult because they’re indecisive. Show them you care by offering help should they feel it’s necessary. Another option is to ask them a few questions that will help them narrow down their choice and decide faster. 
<h3>6. Assume other customers are watching</h3>
A simple change in perspective can change the way you handle difficult customers and react to things they say. Always assume you’re not alone and other customers are watching everything. This perspective switch can make your approach more polite, constructive, and effective. You’ll think more clearly when responding to their complaints. 

Difficult customers are a major challenge for any business because they tend to leave negative feedback or speak out about your company in a negative way. When you approach the situation from a different perspective, you can successfully resolve it. <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/10-ways-to-handle-difficult-customers">Unruly customer</a>s will know you’ve done everything you can and talk about it. And even if there are other customers, they’ll see it too.
<h3>7. Apologize and offer</h3>
What infuriates customers the most is the absence of apology when they’re reporting a negative experience. Many businesses simply refuse to apologize to customers, if their complaints are valid. 

A simple apology can turn the whole situation around. It’s the first step toward successful resolution of the problem and it can help turn a critic into a loyal customer again. 

In some situations, an apology can work on its own, but in others, you’ll need something else as well. That’s when the offer steps in. Offer customers something to make up for their dissatisfaction e.g. a discount code for their next visit. 

Although the last thing you want is to offer anything to a difficult person, compensating for their negative experience can turn the whole situation around. 
<h3>8. Other things you may want to do</h3>
<ul>
 	<li>Remember they’re humans</li>
 	<li>Personalize your email response</li>
 	<li>Be proactive and describe how you’re going to handle their problem</li>
 	<li>Use a polite, positive tone</li>
 	<li>Never scold the customer</li>
 	<li>Maintain a healthy level of eye contact</li>
 	<li>Communicate what you can and can’t do about their problem, they need to know their options</li>
</ul>
<h2>How to handle difficult customers over the phone?</h2>
Many customers decide to express their dissatisfaction by dialing the number of a specific business. These situations happen unexpectedly and catch you off-guard. Things you say can either calm them down or only infuriate them even more. Good prep is crucial, so you may want to learn how to handle difficult customers over the phone or train with your colleagues. 

<img class="img-fluid alignnone wp-image-9691 size-full" src="https://cmsapi.rateusonline.com/public/uploads/2021/05/dc5.jpg" alt="how to handle difficult customer over phone " width="2000" height="1333" />

When dealing with angry and difficult customers over the phone you need to listen. In other words, don’t just wait for them to stalk talking. Instead, you need to actively listen to pick up as much info as possible from things they say.

The more you know the nature of their problem, the easier it is to solve it. For that reason, you also need to provide validation to the caller. At the end of the day, that difficult person just wants you to acknowledge they are upset for a good reason. 

A common mistake that many customer service professionals make is that they tend to talk down to customers. This approach is not recommended! Instead, you should point out there is a problem, but it can be fixed.

Make sure to apologize for the inconvenience in case the customer’s reaction resulted from a mistake done by your business. With an apology, the best thing to do is to offer multiple solutions. In case their complaint is baseless, you may want to be polite, patient, and explain the whole situation.

Whenever possible, you need to avoid putting a customer on hold. This can only infuriate them even more and they may take it as a sign of disrespect. Although tricky, you may want to come up with a solution to their problem while still speaking to them. Or promise to get back to them as soon as possible, and actually do it. 
<h2>How to handle difficult customer interview question</h2>
When discussing the whole subject of dealing with difficult clients we can’t overlook one important thing – handling this question at your job interview. Most employers ask how to handle difficult customer interview questions before they decide whether they would hire you or not.

So, what would you say if the potential employer asked how to handle difficult conversations with customers? One of the best approaches is to use past experiences to answer this question. 

Before you answer, you need to keep in mind employer wants to assess your problem-solving capabilities. They’re also looking for a candidate with strong interpersonal skills. Behavioural questions are complex. Your goal is to provide a well-crafted and thoughtful response. For that purpose, you may want to use tips and recommendations from this post.

The way you tell the story is equally important as the story or explanation itself. You may want to follow a <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/guide/example-of-dealing-with-a-difficult-customer-interview-question/">STAR method</a> when answering potential employer’s questions. The method revolves around:
<ul>
 	<li>Situation – use enough context for the employer to get a clear picture, but keep it simple at the same time</li>
 	<li>Task – describe your role or responsibility in the situation </li>
 	<li>Action – describe strategies you implemented to handle a difficult customer </li>
 	<li>Result – talk about the specific positive conclusion and other potential positive outcomes that happened later e.g. client gave a positive feedback</li>
</ul>
Conclusion

While difficult customers are a common problem, many people in the workplace don’t handle them effectively. Most customers would repeat the purchase or use a service from a business with outstanding customer service. Handling difficult customers is something you learn and enrich through your career, it’s also a matter of training, and the overall atmosphere at work. You need to practice active listening, show empathy, be proactive, and remain calm.

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