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The Secrets of Communicating with Other Companies

Effective communication is essential to any good relationship. Business relationships are no exception. It is just as important for you to have effective B2B communications as it is to have efficient Business-to-Customer communications. By elevating the level of how you communicate with other companies from being only good and you will see many more . Below are a few components of communication that possibly could help your strategy become great.

Bad Writing Can Make a Bad Impression

Do you communicate with other companies via the phone mostly and use written or typed material sparingly? Or is most your communication handled non-verbally with emails or on your website or blog? Whether you rely heavily on writing or only do so from time to time, it is important that your spelling and grammar be correct. You also want what you write to be clear, meaningful, compelling, and professional from the opening sentence.

Here are a few other tips for better business writing:

  • Logical structure should include a beginning, middle, and end
  • Avoid too many passive verbs, like “It will be sent tomorrow”; use active ones instead, like “We will send it tomorrow.”
  • Stay away from run-on sentences
  • Be authentic and judiciously use humor to engage your readers
  • Write in a tone that is most appropriate for your audience

Have Consistency in Your Communication Strategy Consistently

Know what it is that you are trying to say and keep on with that message always. You want to properly integrate a consistent message with every single one of the outlets you utilize for communication. These channels would include social networks, websites, emails and so forth. You do not have to use the same exact words in the messages, but the voice used across the different channels, and the point you are making should be identical.

Also, establish a regular frequency for communicating with other businesses. How often you reach out to a company is of particular importance if at any time you made promises as to the regularity of communication between the organizations. For example, if you told another business of bi-monthly communications, and instead, you reach out quarterly, then it could send the wrong message which may translate that you do not deliver on your promises.

Personify Your Business and Let Your True Colors Speak

Your communication should have a sense of personality which would allow other companies to connect with your business. Allow your organization to be colorful and lively in communication. You do not want to be another static company that fails to build trust because they cannot hear your business’ unique voice in your communications.

In business, there are four distinct company characteristics or business personalities. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is used in other areas of life to define and divide people into four basic groups of traits. Which type best describes your business?

Relational

Group situations and external relationships drive the relational company characteristic.

Dominant

An objective-focused personality, this”Type A” personality is hardworking and straightforward.

Introvert

A highly analytical business personality, an introvert would give something much thought before taking any action, likes facts and data, and is rational.

Expressive

This extroverted personality type is competitive, a natural at sales, and due to an enthusiastic nature and outgoingness, would make for great training consultants or business trainers.

Switch Up the Format

You do not want to come across as boring, no matter what your business personality, when communicating with other companies. You want to provide companies with a potent media mixture. You can use webcasts, eFliers, blogs, Twitter tweets, videos, email newsletters, Facebook posts, and other mediums in an alternating or rotating way to keep your delivery fresh.

 

While what gets said may vary depending on the audience, B2B communication should not be approached differently from that of B2C communication when it comes to strategy. You can use good communications to ingratiate yourself with your connections. It may help if you remain consistent in your message and frequency, have a personal voice, use variety in the formats with which you communicate, and write error-free content. Then, like in the movie Jerry Maguire, you might have a business at “hello.”

 

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Expenses Businesses Forget to Budget For

An estimated eight out of ten small businesses fail within the first few years. One of the primary reasons for this relates to financial challenges and poor cash flow. While there are many steps that you can take to line up funding you need to get your new business off the ground, the reality is that your quest for startup funding is only as beneficial as your budgeting efforts allow for. More than that, once your business has become successful, budgeting continues to be important to its overall profitability. However, business finances can be complex, and more than 50 percent of small business owners outsource this task to a controller. If you are preparing to launch your business or you are already an experienced business owner, you can more easily create an effective budget when you include all expenses that will affect your business in your budget. There are some expenses, however, that many business owners fail to allocate funds for. By learning more about these expenses, you can more easily update your budget successfully.

 

Insurance

There are various types of insurance that businesses need. If you have a larger business with several employees, you may be required to provide them with health insurance. With this as a requirement, you may budget appropriately for it. However, you may also need insurance for your commercial vehicles, rental or property insurance for your place of business and more. You should budget appropriately for the premiums for these policies as well as for the deductibles. You never know when you will need to file a claim, but you should always be financially able to do so.

 

Marketing and Advertising

Marketing and advertising are the lifeblood of many businesses because they drive sales. As important as they are, some businesses regularly fail to allocate a healthy sum of money to this expense. As a result, marketing can be irregular and not as effective as it could be. As you update your budget, consider all ongoing marketing expenses, such as hosting fees for your website. In addition, create a complete marketing plan for the next year, and allocate funds necessary to execute this plan in a timely manner.

 

Professional Lunches and Social Events

In many business environments, socializing and networking is necessary. It can cost money to attend hosted lunches for industry organizations, to take clients to lunch and more. A savvy business owner will properly allocate a healthy amount of money to this expense category. This will prevent you from running in the red when you take advantage of a great networking opportunity.

 

Property Cleaning

The cleanliness of your facility can impact the health and well-being of your employees as well as the image you project to clients and customers. You need to budget for cleaning supplies and services on a regular basis. In addition, periodic commercial carpet cleaning may also be necessary to keep your venue looking and smelling great.

 

Property Repairs and Maintenance

Property repairs and maintenance may not be a regular expense that recurs each month. In fact, several months may elapse between when your company is burdened by these expenses. However, such expenses can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars when they arise, and they must be properly incorporated into your budget. Make a list of all major repair projects you have in mind, such as kitchen cabinet refacing for the break room. In addition, allocate some funds to cover periodic equipment breakdowns. When you take these steps, you can ensure that you have funds available to keep your property maintained in great condition.

 

Taking steps to improve your budgeting efforts can go a long way toward improving your cash flow and preventing you from running in the red. You may feel that many expenses are unexpected and cannot be planned for. However, you know that appliances will break down, that carpets need cleaning and that networking opportunities cost money, for example. By allocating some of your funds to each of these areas, you can create a more realistic budget that covers all of your expenses. These should be included in your initial business plan before you launch a startup, and they should continue to be included in your regular budget.

 

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