Considering that running a business can be a little bit repetitive from time to time, it’s sometimes good for you to be able to try out some new things. With the world constantly changing and evolving, a business can benefit so much from just trying something new, and we think we have a few things for you to try today. Innovation notoriously hard to achieve in a world where somebody has already done it. There’s that many ideas floating around all of the time, that coming up with something brand new is near enough impossible to achieve. Meaning that keeping your business fresh and interesting is always a major battle. However, we believe that if you try these 5 things below, you should be able to bring a bit of the modern age to your business. Not only that, but they all really do help the running of your company for the better. So, have a read of the 5 business additions that we think you should have, and see if you possibly have any of them already!

24/7 Customer Service

This is something that will have just been out of reach for a lot of you. Customer service is something that you should always put your heart and soul into, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you can put your heart and soul into it 24/7. But, if you’re making sales to people in different time zones, and you’re only operating a 9-5 contact system, then the amount of customers you’re going to frustrate will be huge. We, as business owners, know all too well that some people just aren’t patient enough to wait until the next day for the reply. But you see, if a customer is having to wait nearly 24 hours for a reply, and they reply instantly, but get another reply 24 hours later, their anger is just going to build and build. So, not only is this idea going to help with your customer satisfaction levels, it’s also going to greatly improve the professionalism of your business. If you check out things such as 1300 Numbers, you’ll find that you can pick a brand new number, and have all calls and messages diverted to a different number, meaning that you don’t have to be in the office to answer the phone or a message. The only downside to this idea is that you would have to put your staff on shift rotation so that someone was available 24/7. It might also mean that you will have to hire more staff to fill the role. But, if your customers are happy with your company 24/7, they’re always going to come back. So, what this means for your business is increased sales, and increased popularity, which we could all use a bit of!

Cloud Hosting

Cloud hosting is something that you’ve either tried and loved, or you haven’t given a thought about. For those of you who haven’t even considered cloud hosting, there are a few reasons why you should. For one, there’s nothing worse than when your hosting goes down, and your website has some down time. As soon as it happens you can guarantee that you’ll have a few phone calls or emails from customers asking what the hell is going on. Because customers don’t like to wait around, and if they were suddenly kicked out of your website because your hosting was down, they’d soon wander off to another website, losing you that vital sale. With cloud hosting, the downtime that you might experience is so minimal compared to the reputation of other hosting companies, and you can be assured that your data will be safe. One thing about some budget hosting companies is that their networks aren’t safe, and at any moment a hacker could swoop in and get the details and information of thousands of people. With the cloud, all you should expect is a good quality service, a low price to pay, and quick and easy hosting services. Plus, there’s many other areas that the cloud manage that you could explore, such as their data services. The cloud is now such a vast service, that they literally could help you to run your business without you having to go anywhere else. Of course, it’s good to spread your options out, so don’t always put your eggs in one basket.

Event Marketing

Event marketing is just so much fun to do, yet so many companies don’t actually bother with it. It’s the perfect way to get your business out in the public, and to actually enjoy a really good day out! Event marketing might not be cheap, but it gives you an experience that no other marketing technique can offer. It allows you to have one shot to impress a room full of people, and gives you an interesting insight into how other companies work, and how they market their business. There are many types of business events that you can go to that will help to market your company. First of all, you’ve got the speaker conferences, and they’re perhaps the most boring one for a lot of people. You’re only really going there to get valuable information about the industry that your company is in, and to see how other companies work. If your company is well enough established, you could even get yourself up on the stage to speak in front of the conference. As nerve wracking as this sounds for a lot of people, it gives you the chance to promote your business, and share your knowledge of the industry with your peers. The second is a trade event, and these are the ones you really want to show your face at. All you have to do is pay for a stand, set up one that is eye catching enough that people will want to come over, and sell your business to the customers. If you want a good bit of advice, have something on your stand that your customers can have for free. Whether it be food or something else!

Sales Management Software

Managing your sales is going to be spreadsheet after spreadsheet, and calculation after calculation. It’s the method that so many companies out there are using at the minute, but we think that software really is the way forward with this one. Software is great for any part of your business that you can use it in, but with sales, it’s just going to make your life so much easier. There’s software out there that you can either hook up to your website, or you can use it as ecommerce in the store. It will monitor all of your sales, inventory, and incomings and outgoings, to give you a good idea of what is going on with your company. You might have to pay for it, but it gives you such a clear picture, and it allows you to effectively do a bit of damage control if your sales are dropping.

International Sales

International sales are something that we know will intimidate a lot of companies out there. International sales aren’t easy to get into, and a business is usually going years before they even attempt to go overseas. Now, for some companies, this is going to be a lot easier than for others. For example, if your sales are all from digital services, then there’s no reason why you can’t expand from close to the beginning. But, if you’re selling products, there’s so much more that goes into it.