With the digital marketing industry increasing in size, businesses are persistent in searching for new tools to make their marketing processes more automated, helping them to reduce their costs in the long run. Marketing involves a lot of human emotion to create compelling content that will resonate with audiences, so it’s hard to picture a marketing world where everything is automated. How automation currently operates in marketing Businesses that are looking to scale and grow are quickly turning their heads to methods that allow them to free up capacity within their business and allocate this capacity to managing larger workloads. One way they can do this is through automating communication with customers and prospects. Marketing tools such as Mailchimp are becoming increasingly accessible which can allow businesses to fully automate their email marketing for a small cost, adding an extra element to their customer service and communications. Through automatic email marketing, you can send relevant messages to your audience whenever they make a certain action on your website which means you never miss an opportunity to engage with a potential customer. How the development of AI could help to automate marketing? The development of AI has increased rapidly in 2019 and more of us are starting to use AI assistants such as Alexa and Google Home to make our lives more convenient. AI is constantly moving forward and opportunities are growing, making it more likely that we will see AI playing a big role in marketing. As marketers, we aren’t communicating with robots, we’re communicating amongst each other, human to human. This could prevent AI from replacing marketers as they may struggle to connect with human emotion which can determine the success of a marketing campaign. If we begin to pass all of our marketing activities to computers and robots, the quality of our content may suffer and soon we might not be able to connect with our target audience in the way we hope to. Why could this happen? AI is not a human, therefore, it cannot take into account factors such as tonality which can ultimately define whether or not a piece of content will be successful. It is the lack of emotion with AI systems that can cause us to disconnect with them on a communication level, therefore, we tend to use these systems as tools to make our lives more convenient. How AI could bring a huge benefit to marketing? With AI systems making our lives more convenient, we can still find a place for it in marketing. Technology is already playing a part in the marketing industry to make processes more automated, saving time and money. However, we are only just scratching the surface in this development and the improvement of AI could support marketers going forward. The use of voice marketing is growing significantly with devices such as Amazon’s echo becomingly increasingly sought after as household essentials. Marketers can use these tools and devices to make their processes more efficient and achieve a greater return on their investment. Overall, AI can help us to make marketing more efficient and convenient but implementing AI as a direct replacement for marketers could prove costly for your content with AI failing to account for various human factors. However, if you are looking to cut costs and improve lead generation then automatic marketing tools are a good place to start. Useful automation tools: Mailchimp HubSpot ManyChat Hootsuite If you are looking to automate your marketing, our team is available to support you with your digital marketing activities.

You may have heard of a “virtual office” quite frequently when setting up your business, but what is a virtual office and why would it benefit your business? A virtual office provides you with a virtual presence at the location you choose. If you are someone who works from home, the virtual office will make it appear as though you are operating from an office when you are working from the comfort of your own home. In this article, we’re going to be covering some of the most important and beneficial aspects when registering for a virtual office. Improve your cash flow Virtual offices can be a fantastic alternative to renting office space. Rent is often a huge cost for businesses and it can create a huge burden for those who are having challenges with their cash flow. Moving out of that office space and registering with a virtual office can be the perfect solution for those who can work from home with virtual offices only costing a fraction of the rent you would pay for a physical office space. Focus on growing your business Cutting costs with a virtual office provides you with more flexibility to start growing your business by opening your options for investment. With more capital available you can start to analyse all the options you have available and focus on understanding which move could be the best for your business in the long run. Fill customers with confidence Establishing a professional presence through a virtual office is a great way to fill your customers with confidence. If you are currently working from home and your business is registered at your home address, then you could be pushing potential customers away as it can create an unprofessional identity for your business. Establish a regional presence A lot of businesses aim to target their audience geographically which can sometimes create a challenge when they are not based in that region. A virtual office will allow you to establish your presence in the region you are targeting even if you are not physically based in that location, and this supports you in developing strong relationships with your target audience. In addition to this, if you are a business looking to operate in the UK then a virtual office can cost-effectively facilitate this. If you are looking to establish a presence in the North East for your business then please do get in touch on 01661 823234 or you can learn more about virtual offices on our website.

Here at the SME Centre of Excellence, we understand that running a business requires you to be as productive and effective as possible while minimising your overheads to create the optimum conditions to make maximum profits. This is an obvious and basic fact of doing business and one that many business owners are told at the beginning of their journey. Unless you’re in a tech business, you’ve probably never considered how a chatbot could support the development, efficiency and profitability you could achieve and yet, you’ve most likely seen dozens of them on other’s sites, possibly some of your competitors. Unfortunately, not all business owners utilise the tools they could be to make that happen because of the amount of work that is constantly being done both in and on the business. However, fear not, as we will give you six great benefits of using a chatbot with the view to develop your personal awareness as well as developing your organisations efficiency. A chatbot is basically a computer program that can interact with humans over the internet.  Their simulation of human language and behaviour provides several benefits that can be used in your business. Save Time One of the great benefits of using chatbots in your business is that they save time. For instance, when used on your website they can provide fast, automated answers to most questions. Their use prevents customers from waiting a day or longer to receive responses as they would have in the past. This allows your business to serve greater numbers of people while increasing productivity and decreasing costs. Save Money There are a number of different approaches you, as a business owner, can take to implement a chatbot solution. Some of these range from free through to many thousands of pounds but essentially take on the following flavours: Use a self-service platform to develop a chatbot Develop your own from scratch Ready-made solutions Depending on the requirements, many businesses find they can get a bot that does most if not all of what you are looking for. If this isn’t for you, expect to play from around £5000 for simple chatbot through to £15000 for a one that understands complex requirements. Whichever solution you opt for, the maintenance costs are very low, meaning that your up-front expense could be recouped in a relatively short space of time. Provide Greater Customer Satisfaction Chatbots play a critical role in improving the customer experience and allow business owners to better engage with their audience – without really doing much. They offer real-time assistance to the user, dedicated support and proactive interactions through asking users questions to understand the real problem. Having a chatbot being available 24 hours per day genuinely allows your website to be used at all times of the night or day thus increasing the probability of a meaningful engagement with a user – even at 2am! Frustrated customers who don’t get quick answers, on the other hand, may leave your website and never return. Chatbots can eliminate that scenario and help you keep your customers. Increase Customer Base There is another benefit of using chatbots in your business. They may help you reach more people which can increase your customer base. Bots can also be used to warm prospects, schedule sales appointments and help make purchases. In a recent exercise, a new chatbot was set up to help a client close vehicle loans without ever needing a human. It asked all the questions that a human would ask and was designed to include emojis to make the conversation sound more natural. Cut Down on Errors There are two schools of thought around the processing of data and the effectiveness of chatbots. One school of thought suggests that humans can make mistakes when handling data or requests, we can forget things, mis-understand or make any number of other errors. This school of thought says that Chatbots don’t suffer any of these issues? Alternatively, other schools of thoughts suggest that chatbots have a limited capacity to understand and where more complex requirements are needed, it is more effective to have a human at the other end. Which ever school of thought you feel is correct (or not), it is clear that chatbots are becoming ever more acceptable on websites with some studies showing that 45% of end-users prefer dealing with a chat bot than a human. Add Good Humour An additional benefit of using chatbots in your business is that they add good humour. You never have to worry about a chatbot being in a bad mood. They will never turn away customers with an angry response, attitude, or glance. They can be programmed to have a bit of humour which can make them seem more humanlike. This puts customers at ease and makes their experience with your business more satisfying. It’s important to make your business the best it can be to generate greater success and profits. As you can see, there are benefits of using chatbots in your business that can help that happen. If you are thinking of looking at how technology can support your business growth, give us a call to arrange an initial conversation. We will always abide by our overarching value statement that we will offer you the right support at the right time and at the right price – so you can feel confident we have your best interest at the heart of everything we do. The SME Centre of Excellence team is available to assist you with all your business requirements. Get in touch with our team to see how we can support your business to start, survive and thrive. #ChatBots #DigitalMarketing #Marketing #Websites

Did you know that almost half of all invoices are paid late? Gosh, we were quite shocked with that figure too. 50% – that’s a whole lot of money being lost to businesses that rely upon swift transactions. In fact, according to bank money transfer service, Bacs, the UK’s small business community spent £6.7 billion in 2018 just attempting to collect invoices they were owed. As if this wasn’t enough of a problem, Bacs also revealed that more than a quarter of small business owners have been forced to pay their own suppliers late as a consequence of unpaid invoices from larger companies. This equates to cashflow nightmare for small business owners who regularly deal with larger organisations. However, we’ve also noticed that some businesses are brilliant at getting the money they’re owed. Instead of waiting for weeks or months, they get paid in days. So how do they do it? We’ve put together a few hints and tips that might support you in getting paid that little bit quicker in the future. What are invoice payment terms? Invoice payment terms spell out how you expect to be paid, and might include details like: accepted forms of payment (maybe you won’t take credit cards) the currency you deal in if you work across borders late-payment penalties, if you charge them But perhaps the most important payment term of all is the due date. When do you expect to be paid? In times gone by, it was standard to offer 30 days or even 60 days payment due date, but that’s changing as technology improves. We’re sure some organisations still pay using cheque – but they’ll be few and far between. Technology gives us the ability to reduce the payment due date and thus re-think the 30-day terms. So, here’s 4 points that could support you to get your invoices paid quicker. Action point 1 – Short payment terms get you paid quicker Invoices with short payment terms are more likely to go past due, but you still get your money sooner than if you give three or four weeks to pay. As an example, research has found that issuing an invoice with a 1-week due date often will be paid around the 15-day mark, with a 2 week due date it’s 21 days paid and with a 3 week due date, the payment is usually paid around day 27. You can see that all the due dates were missed – but you still got your invoice paid quicker than issuing 30-day terms! Action point 2 – Payment terms are getting shorter You needn’t feel bad about giving shorter invoice payment terms. Close to 75% of invoices ask for payment within 2 weeks, so expectations are changing. Some customers may expect longer payment terms for bigger bills, but you may be able to negotiate with them. If they ask for a discount, for example, consider requesting faster payment in return. Alternatively, you could enter into a payment agreement for cashflow purposes. Action point 3 – Get clients on the clock quickly It doesn’t matter how short your invoice payment terms are if you don’t send the bill on time. Whether you give 30 days to pay, or just seven – the clock doesn’t start ticking until the invoice is in their hands. Never put invoicing off. Whenever you do, you’re pushing back your payday. Speed up the process by using templates, sending invoices electronically, and even invoicing from your phone (so you can do it straight after a job is done). Action point 4 – Don’t be afraid to chase payment Don’t wait until an invoice is two weeks late before reminding a client they owe you. Try sending a friendly email as the due date approaches. Follow up again if they go past due. We know that chasing invoices isn’t the most glamorous aspect of running your own business, but we would suggest that you don’t let this drop as it may just be the thing that keeps your head above water! If you don’t have time for all the follow-up, consider: using invoicing software that automatically sends reminder emails for you asking your accountant if they’ll call overdue clients for you At the SME Centre of Excellence we have a network of finance experts to support your business. Learn more via the SME CofE accountancy page.

Furlough - Find out if you are eligible for the Job Rentention Scheme here. Self-employed - Find out what to do if you are getting less or no work as a result of COVID-19. More information is available here. What to do if you are employed but cannot work - Information available on Gov.uk Guidance for people who have lost their job due to COVID-19. Find out more here. Due to unprecedented challenges, the current climate is tough for all business owners. You don't have to face these challenges in isolation. Reach out to one of our team if you are looking for further support.

The Government has released the roadmap out of lockdown, outlining the plans to reopen businesses in the coming months. From 29th March - Outdoor sports facilities such as: gyms swimming pools sports courts (such as tennis and basketball courts) golf courses, including mini golf water sports venues climbing walls driving and shooting ranges riding arenas at riding centres archery venues No earlier than April 12th - Non-essential retail will open such as: clothing stores and tailors charity and antique shops homeware and carpet stores showrooms (such as for vehicles as well as kitchens and bathrooms) electronic goods and mobile phone shops retail travel agents photography studios remaining auction houses and markets tobacco and vape stores betting shops (subject to additional COVID-Secure measures, such as limiting the use of gaming machines). car washes (except for automatic car washes that are already open) Personal care facilities: hair, beauty and nail salons body and skin piercing services tattoo studios spas and massage centres (except for steam rooms and saunas) holistic therapy (including acupuncture, homeopathy, and reflexology) tanning salons Indoor sports and leisure facilities: gyms and leisure centres sports courts swimming pools dance studios and fitness centres driving and shooting ranges riding arenas archery venues climbing wall centres No earlier than May 17th - Indoor entertainment and visitor attractions: cinemas theatres concert halls museums and galleries adventure playgrounds and activities amusement arcades and adult gaming centres bingo halls casinos bowling alleys skating rinks games, recreation and entertainment venues such as escape rooms and laser quest play areas (including soft play centres and inflatable parks) model villages snooker and pool halls trampolining parks water and aqua parks indoor visitor attractions at theme parks and film studios indoor attractions at zoos, safari parks, aquariums and other animal attractions indoor attractions at botanical gardens, greenhouses and biomes indoor attractions at sculpture parks indoor attractions at landmarks including observation wheels or viewing platforms indoor attractions at stately or historic homes, castles, or other heritage sites conference centres and exhibition halls, including for the purposes of business events (subject to the capacity limits set out below) No earlier than 21st June: Reopen remaining settings such as nightclubs and adult entertainment venues, and to lift the restrictions on social contact and large events.

As part of the 2021 budget, Rishi Sunak is expected to outline a £520m Help to Grow Scheme to support small businesses. The scheme will help businesses gain access to the support they need, as well as, opening up new opportunities around technology that aim to support future growth and productivity. The scheme will be delivered through digital and management. The digital side of the scheme will include an online service offering free advice on how businesses can improve their digital capability. Alternatively, the management approach will offer subsidised management training to develop skills in areas such as marketing and finance. Find out more about the 2021 budget here.

Have you considered using a virtual office as a route to sustainable growth? Given the technology available to use these days, we can see some immediate benefits in developing your business in this way: Legal Address – if you are a tenant, chances are running a business from that property is not part of your agreement. Equally, if you own your property, wouldn’t it make sense to separate your private home address and your work address. Reduce your costs – renting or buying space is expensive, so why not consider using a cheaper, more flexible approach? Our virtual office package provides an amazing value for money alternative to a physical option. Professional image – with a virtual office you can work from anywhere in the world, but give the impression that you are a professional organisation. Using technology is a great way to take advantage of developing your business how you want to. Great location – we are situated in one of the most prestigious postcodes in the North East with Newcastle International Airport just minutes away in a car. This is truly an impressive, yet affordable option to consider should you be looking for a virtual office solution. Works for your employees – In today’s modern world, many jobs can be done remotely, and working from a certain location only during office hours is not necessary or even possible anymore. Using virtual office as a front and letting your employees work from home can play a part in reducing their stress, increase their productivity and develop a trust with your organisation which reduces your staff churn. Call Chris on 01661 823 234 for further details or visit www.smecofe.com/virtual-office #CoWorking #VirtualOffice

Welcome to your second installment of how to achieve optimum customer retention within your food business. Before we get started with this week’s content, we’d just like to thank you for signing up to this series of informal ramblings around retaining customers – we really value the time you’re putting into this, and hope you get much more out of it! So, this week we’ll be looking at ‘The Personal Touch’. Now, everyone will think that they offer this, do this as standard or prides their business on it – but let’s take a real look into the personal touch and understand what’s going on here in the mind of the customer. Dining remains one of the most intimate and important of human experiences – a celebration of good food, service, style, atmosphere, and of course good company. When you think about it, delivering a genuine personal experience in the food industry shouldn’t be that difficult, irrespective whether you’re a casual-dining and quick-service eatery or high-end restaurant space. One difference that restaurants can make which really helps a customer convert into a returning customer is the personal touch. There are a couple of key points at this stage that should be noted to support your quest to gain regular customers through using the personal touch Customers are bound to return to a restaurant where they feel they are treated specially. So make it special with actions which support the personal touch you’re so looking for – knowing their drinks order before they ask, gaining insights around their interests and other small but effective actions. Train your staff to be hospitable and welcoming in little ways like greeting the guests when they walk in and seating them. Included in this is a whole piece around new staff induction processes and delivering your culture. Customers feel at home if the host remembers their names or the waiter knows their favorite dish and ordering habit. Even things like remembering where customers prefer to sit can make a huge difference in the thinking process of a customer. Familiar waiting staff results in higher customer retention and engagement. It has been seen that a turnover in the waiting staff results in an overall decrease in profits – so hire employees that share your ethos, you can always train for skills! As technology has become more mainstream, accessible and mobile, how about trying additional techniques to really wow customers? So, with the power of a database or CRM system (something we’ll be looking into more next week) you could get to a stage where a super personal email goes out to a customer and says “Hey, we know you love your latte after your meal – you’ve had one every visit since February. Tell Josie, your server next time you’re in and we’ll get you one on the house!” Or “We notice that you really love your pasta! Why not try out our new pasta recipe next time you’re in and we’ll give you 50% off your food bill – be sure to print the attached voucher off!” This approach really starts to create that personal touch with your customers – they’re getting amazing service during their meal, but they can now start to see that you’re always thinking about them, looking at their habits and starting to offer them different options based on their previous. A loyalty scheme is a great way to achieve this and we’ll discuss this topic in week 5 – with some examples of places that have used loyalty schemes to huge positive effective. Remember “Customer service isn’t a department – it’s a mindset” #Hospitality

About a virtual office? A physical office space can place a huge expense on your business and in some cases, a physical office space is not even necessary for a business. Virtual Offices are a cost-effective alternative to renting an expensive physical office space. So, what is a virtual office? A virtual office provides you with a virtual presence at the location you choose. The virtual office allows a business to establish a professional image and provides complete flexibility. For example, a business owner might be running their business from home but they do not want to have the business address as their home address so they would opt for a virtual office to separate these addresses. What are the benefits of using a virtual office? If you rent your property, there’s a good chance that registering your company to that address will not be allowed under your tenancy – primarily as the landlord shoulders much of the liability should you rack up debt. Lastly, the landlord and next tenants may find it difficult to secure consumer credit on items such as tv’s or mobile phones due to the address if a business has been operating from that address and racked up lots of debt. Cut Costs – A virtual office is a much cheaper alternative to renting a physical office space. You might be spending huge amounts of money on a physical office space when you don’t necessarily need the space but need the benefits that a virtual office would provide. Make the switch to a virtual office and start saving today. Separate your business address from your home address – Registering your business at your home address can create multiple challenges. One of the main challenges is the business image. A home address creates an unprofessional image for your business which could affect your growth. The second major challenge is associated with privacy. Many business owners do not want their business registered at their home address because it can be intrusive on their privacy. A virtual office provides a solution to both problems because it allows you to separate your business address from your home address. Complete Flexibility – Virtual offices unlock the door to flexible working. With a virtual office in place you can choose to work from anywhere in the world because you aren’t locked into one location. Set up a virtual office and start working from your ideal location. Have a regional presence – many organisations tender for local authority or other government funded bids. Without an address local to the region often precludes organisations from applying for the tender. Additionally, if you’re a business looking to operate within the UK, having a virtual office is a very effective way of creating a global brand. Check out our virtual office services today.

Loyal customers are a lot more likely to buy more than new customers. This in turn is likely to lead to a higher stream of revenue in the long-run. So how can customer retention be achieved? Well, one of the main factors involved with customer retention is relationships. This is primarily focusing on developing the relationship between your clients and your brand. In order to do this, we are going to be looking at relationship marketing to ensure your clients remain loyal to your brand. For relationship marketing to work, we need to focus on long-term results. The key is to build a meaningful relationship over a long period of time. This is often established when the customer receives extra value for engaging with your brand. For example, you could offer clients loyalty points when they make a purchase from you, this way customers start to feel an attachment with your brand. This is good for you because you are building up customer loyalty, however, we want to be able to create something bigger than this. Thanks to social media, we now have the luxury of being able to connect with any brand we love. With this in mind, we want to be able to bring loyal customers together as part of a community surrounding the brand. This is done through social media marketing, which aims to send your brand message out to a large audience. As a result, you will increase your brand exposure which is extremely beneficial for customer retention because your social media page will hold content that adds value to your clients. Once customers know about your social media page, they will be able to access resources like competitions which are the perfect way to build relationships with your clients because it is a chance for you to give back. #CustomerRetention #Hospitality #Marketing

When it comes to marketing it can be very challenging to find a medium where you can communicate with your target audience, and as a result, there is a major concern that the return on investment won’t be worth the effort and resources you invest. One of the most attractive marketing campaigns is a coaster campaign. Communicating with your target audience through coasters offers a lot of benefits that will ensure you get a strong return on your investments. Let’s have a look at some of the highlight benefits. High Rate of Retention One of the biggest challenges in marketing is creating the material that is compelling enough to allow your target audience to remember the message that you are delivering so that they will take action at a later stage in the buying process. Coasters will provide a simple solution to this problem. Pe People on average spend 45 minutes in a bar which means they have the opportunity to spend 45 minutes absorbing the information on your coaster. Therefore, they are more likely to notice the coaster time and time again, especially when the coaster is placed directly under their drink. The more times a consumer is exposed to marketing material, the more likely they are to remember the message. As a result, the retention rate of a message on a coaster is over 60%, making them highly effective when it comes to improving brand awareness. Increased Exposure Bars have a high number of different people that pass through every single day. This is a huge opportunity for your business if you were to have your message on the front of a coaster. On average there are 4-6 people around a single table in a bar. That’s 4-6 different people absorbing your message over a long period of time. When combined with the high retention rate of a coaster campaign, you can start to see the potential value they offer for your business. Combine online and offline marketing It is very rare to find a piece of marketing material that will allow you to deliver your message both online and offline. We have designed a unique dynamic coaster that allows you to do just that. We add a unique QR code to your coasters so that your target audience can quickly scan the code and see all your latest offers online. If they don’t have a phone on hand to scan the code, they are still able to absorb the message that is displayed on the coaster. Learn more about our dynamic coasters here. #Coasters #Marketing