7 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOURSELF AS A BUSINESS OWNER

When last did you improve yourself as a business owner?

A business can only be as great as its owner. Often, people wonder why a business is stagnant. But, it is only ideal that the business growth remains stunted when the business owner pauses on self improvement.

Sadly, many business owners get carried away with the running of a business and neglect themselves. They fail to realize that business growth also depends on them. When you keep improving as an entrepreneur, it has a ripple positive effect on your brand.

So, we decided to compile this article to serve as a reminder to all business owners that they need to keep improving themselves.

We had a mentorship class with some entrepreneurs some time ago and shared some ways they can keep improving themselves.

Simple ways to improve yourself as a business owner include:

1. Always be open to learning

Business owners are some of the most difficult people you would encounter. These entrepreneurs never fail to remind people of how hard it was for them to raise the capital for a business and have the business still running. So, they tend to be close-minded when you want to share information with them.

As an entrepreneur, you always need to work with an open mindset. Of course, no one is undermining the role that you play as the business owner. However, it is best to keep in mind that you are not an island. Therefore, you cannot know everything. So, you should always be opening to learning.

When you are open to learning, you would constantly learn something new almost every day. You would also realize that you can learn things from almost anyone.

A business owner once shared how he learned the concept of understanding different points of views by observing an interaction between a child and a mother. The way the child conveyed his message to his mother was enough to quench her anger.

The interaction left an imprint in the mind of this business owner and he ensured to incorporate it into the way he communicates with angry customers.

There is always something to learn from anyone and any situation when you are open to learning.

2. Surround yourself with people who would give you honest reviews

What sort of company do you keep? Are you surrounded by people who always agree with whatever you say? The sort of company you keep can either make or mar you as a business owner and can also affect your business.

The people around you should be able to give you honest reviews. They should be able to checkmate the things you do and let you know if the strategies are right or wrong. These people could also include your employees.

From our interaction with employees of certain organizations they confess that they cannot give honest reviews to their CEO because CEOs are usually not approachable. There is the perception that most CEOs have a huge ego and find it hard to listen to others.

Having this sort of personality would not be helpful to you or your brand. As a business owner, you should have a friendly aura and personality. It makes it easier for people to talk to you and they can say their honest reviews with you.

It would be best for you not to view these reviews as an attack. Instead, take the criticisms and find ways you can work on them to become better. This way, you are improving yourself as a business owner.

3. Keep up with trends

Running a business can be draining and tasking. So, we understand when business owners complain that they do not have time for themselves and even their families sometimes. Often, these business owners are out on the field chasing things that would help to boost their burand visibility and increase sales.

So, it is sometimes laughable when we tell business owners that they need to keep up with trends. These entrepreneurs laugh and look at us with a confused face. They further explain that their phones or social media platforms are the least of their worries. Thus, telling them to keep up with trends is an almost impossible task.

However, keeping up with trends is one way you can improve yourself as a business owner. When you keep up with trends, you get to see what other businesses and business owners are doing.

If people are doing it and it becomes trending, don’t you think you should also do it? If it has been working for their brand, don’t you think it would also work for yours?

As much as you are busy, you should also create time to keep up with trends. It is where time management comes to play. We assure you that you’d be grateful to follow these trends.

4. Build your network

We know that you may be tired of people always telling you that your network is your net worth. You might not want to hear it, but we are here to repeat and reinstate that this statement is true. As a business owner, you cannot live life as an island as there is a deep need for collaboration.

One of the first things you need to be intentional about as a business owner is building your network. You need to consciously put in an effort in ensuring that you are at the right place at the right time. This way, you can meet and connect with people who would help to boost your business.

It is a fact that you cannot be everywhere at the same time. However, it is your network that will speak for you in your absence.

You will realize that you have lesser worries when you have a solid network. For example, you have a need and it seems like you do not have a solution for it. Interestingly, someone within your network would have a solution for that need.

Therefore, we encourage all business owners to join communities that would help to boost and increase their network. It is one of the best ways to improve yourself as a business owner.

5. Set goals

We cannot talk about self-improvement without mentioning goals. What are those things that you hope to achieve as an individual or brand?

Sadly, we’ve seen many business owners who live their lives without setting goals. Year in, year out, these people move about as if they do not have a care in the world. When there is an evaluation in some years, you would see that such people have not grown from where they were some years ago.

The issue here is that they did not set goals. And there is usually no plan when there are no goals. How do you expect to grow?

Thus, you need to set goals for yourself if you want to improve as a business owners. In addition, these goals must also be feasible or you wouldn’t be able to achieve them.

There is nothing wrong in setting goals in bits. We encourage people to have smaller goals as it is one of the best ways to ensure that you complete them. As you hit your goal target in bits, it encourages you to do more.

If you have not started setting goals for yourself as a business owner, the best time to start is now! You can also employ the use of project management tools to assist in completing these goals.

6. Invest in yourself

Most business owners believe that they should put all their resources into their business. We are not saying that is a wrong thing to do. However, you need to understand that you cannot separate the business from the business owner. So, if you are not growing as a business owner, it would also affect your business.

Therefore, you need to invest in yourself the same way you are investing in your business.

How can I invest in myself as a business owner? It is one of the top questions we get from entrepreneurs when they say that they have to invest in themselves. One of the best ways for such to happen is by taking courses.

These courses are essential in self-development for all individuals as it isn’t limited to business owners alone. With these courses, you are pushing your mind to do more and learning new things.

You can never tell the situation you would find yourself where knowledge from any of the courses you took would come in handy. Therefore, it is important to keep investing in yourself if you want to do better as a business owner.

In addition, you can also attend interactive seminars and events.

7. Be adaptable

One of the issues that many business owners face is the fact that they are not adaptable. These people are usually fixateted on how things were initially, and they are not ready to transition and do things differently.

It is important to understand that growth is essential in life. And the concept of growth entails being dynamic. You cannot say that you are growing when things are static or stagnant. Therefore, you must set your mindset to be adaptable.

For example, social media was not a thing when you started the journey of being an entrepreneur. Any business owner who wanted to do advertisements had to rely on traditional media like radio and newspapers.

However, the only has transitioned and people are now running social media ads for their businesses. As a progressive and adaptable business owner, you’d need to start by setting up a social media profile for your business, follow up with trends, and more.

Sadly, some business owners would not want to jump on this moving train. Instead, they’d want to stick with how things were years ago. Thus, limiting what they can do.

If you want to improve and be better, you must have an adaptive mindset. You will be shocked at the wonders of having such a mindset.

Business owners are an integral part of any business. The same way you want your business to grow should also be the same way you put in an effort to improve yourself. Use the tips we have mentioned in this article to improve yourself as a business owner.

IMPORTANCE OF HAVING A CUSTOMER REWARD SYSTEM

What is a customer reward system?

A custom reward system refers to strategies that you deploy to appreciate your customers for their patronage. Every business owner would agree that it isn’t easy to get customers as you are not the only business in the industry.

Take an automobile company for example. There would be other automobile business wonders, all competing for the same target audience. So, having people who steadily patronize your business is a great feat.

With the realization that the customer is king, there is a need to appreciate them for all that they do for your business. It is called a customer reward system.

There is no one way to go about having a customer reward system. You can decide to give regular shoutouts on your social media pages to your most active customers, or can decide to give out periodic discounts. Whatever you decide to do is your decision and that of your marketing team. Every business should deploy the strategy that works best for them.

In this article, we will focus on reasons why businesses need a customer reward system. Some business owners feel that it isn’t necessary, but we have seen that having a customer reward system can go a long way for your business.

Some reasons why a business should have a customer reward system are:

1. Customer retention

We always tell business owners that the same way customer acquisition is important should be the same way they should also focus on customer retention. It wouldnt make sense when your customers are not making repeat purchases from you. If it happens, it shows that something is wrong somewhere and you are not growing well as a business.

One of the strategies that help with customer retention is having a customer reward system. Customers love to feel appreciated and seen by a business. These customers are under no compulsion to patronize your business, but they keep doing it. So, when you have a reward system, it makes them feel happy.

When other businesses come to pitch to them, it would be harder for them to port as they will want to remain with your brand. To the customer, your reward system is something that they love and they would want to remain with your brand because of it.

We’ve interacted with people who tell us that they cannot patronize certain brands because those brands do not have reward systems for their customers. It shows that it is a high factor for customers. So, you need to incorporate this system into your brand strategies.

2. Higher sales

Did you know that you can make more sales when you have a customer reward system?

Of course, we wouldn’t be surprised if you’re doubting this factor. But it is a strategy we have tried with different brands and we can assure you that it works.

By having a customer reward system, you are connecting to the emotional side of the customer. And it is this emotional connection you are establishing that enables customers to buy things from brands.

After all, if you’re not making sales a business owner, then there is no need to still be in business. If you have been looking for how to boost the sales of your brand, try deploying having a customer reward system as a strategy. It has been used by many marketing teams and have proved to be effective.

It is best to keep in mind that it isn’t every time that your customer would have a need for your product and service. However, they would feel compelled to buy from you when you have established an emotional connection with them. Therefore, it is important to strive for that emotional connection as a business owner. Understandably, you may be in doubt initially but we are sure that you would be back to testify.

3. More customers

Another importance of having a customer reward system is the fact that you can get more customers through it. It usually happens through referrals and word of mouth marketing.

When you have a customer reward system, you can be sure that it would get people talking. If your customers are happy with your system, they will always toot the horn about your business. You will see them talking about it with their friends and even on their social media platforms. Soon, more people get to know about your brand and you will have more customers.

Through the customer reward system, people who have not been patronizing your before would become impressed and they would also want to be a part of your customers’ community as they also want to benefit from this customer reward system,

Recall that we earlier mentioned that customers love to feel seen and appreciated. It could be that these new customers were not appreciated by the other brands that they have been patronizing. So, they will port to your brand now because you have a customer reward system.

You can see that this is an effective system of marketing as you can get referrals from people without paying them to talk about your business.

4. Creates proper communication flow and great bond with customers

One of the most important business hacks should be to have a proper communication flow with your customers. It may seem hard and difficult initially, which is why you have to deploy different strategies to ensure that it happens. So, it isn’t out of place using a customer reward system as one of those strategies to enforce it.
You will find it easier to communicate with your customers when there is a customer reward system. The vibe becomes more friendly and there is no hostility. The customer reward system is a sort of ice breaker between business owners and customers.

Now, customers are no longer shy to reach out for inquiries or complaints. And if there is a complaint, you can be sure that they will do it softly as compared to a brand that they do not have an emotional connection with.

It will be easier to reach out to these customers and know their pain point or needs. Now, running the business would be smoother and more enjoyable. Many entrepreneurs and business owners admit that they enjoy business better when they have a bond with their customers.

We want you to get to that point where your customers are always happy to come in contact with any of your brand’s communication. We know that such an act would give you great satisfaction.

5. Reduces costs

We would say that having a customer reward system helps to reduce costs on the part of the business owner. Imagine getting more customers through referrals at no extra cost.

If you had to pay influencers, you know that you would have to pay money. But now, you have people who are talking about your brand even without you asking.

We are not saying that you wouldn’t spend money on a customer reward system. However, the benefits that come with it cannot compare to other marketing strategies.

Deploying strategies for a business are usually expensive. For example, you know what it would cost to run TV ads. So, if you’re on a tight budget to create visibility and awareness for your brand, you should consider going for a customer reward system.

Indeed, it is truly rewarding.

10 Best Courses to Take as a Business Owner

What are your goals for the new year?

In our conversation with some business owners, we urged them to strive for personal development this year. One of the reasons why some businesses shut down is because the business owners are not well equipped to run the brand.

Running a business is not an easy feat. It isn’t always about having the money to start a business. But, are you fit to be a business owner? Do you have what it takes to manage your customers, employees, stakeholders and yourself?

As we start the new year, we want you to start on the right note. So, we have put together some of the best courses for business owners in this article.

We would highlight and talk about the importance of each of these courses for business owners.

Best Courses for Business Owners

As a budding entrepreneur or business owner who is poised at growth and development, you should take regular courses to improve yourself and your business.

Some of the best courses you can take as a business owner are:

1.Project management

You would always need to undertake projects when you are running a business. It could be the launch of a new business, unveiling of a new brand name or logo, unveiling of a new outlet, etc. The project that you are launching usually depends on the type of business that you run.

However, there are strategic steps that you need to take when you are about to launch a business. These steps are essential to ensure that all parties involved in the project are carried along to ensure that it becomes a success.

When teammates are not in sync, the project becomes a disaster. It would be wrong to think that you can do things anyhow when undertaking projects.

So, taking a project management course as a business owner is essential and one of the best decisions you can make.

2.Customer service

‘The customer is king.’ We are sure that you are familiar with this phrase and you understand the essence of the customers in every business. There would be no business if there are no customers to patronize the products and services of the brand.

Therefore, it is essential that you know how best to relate with these customers. It could be knowing how best to handle angry customers, how to resolve complaints, etc.

Customer service is essential as it leads to customer satisfaction and retention. It is why many big brands ensure that there is a customer service and support department.

3.Public speaking

Do you think that you can do without public speaking as a business owner?

The business owner is usually the face of any brand. Once people think about the brand, their mind usually goes to the business owner. So, you’ll be getting invitations to events to talk about your brand. People can also randomly stop you to talk about your brand or there’d be times when you’d have to do impromptu speeches in public. It is why you have to learn the art of public speaking as a business owner.

Your personality type shouldn’t affect your deliverable when it comes to public talking about your brand. Therefore, every business owner needs to take a class on public speaking.

 4.Finance and accounting

Another important course for business owners is a class on finance and accounting. After all, you know that there will always be cash flow when you’re running a business. Wouldn’t you want to know how to handle your finances better? Wouldn’t you want to understand this cash flow.

It is always best for business owners to have basic knowledge of finance and accounting. It may not be your major, but at least, you should have knowledge about bits like bookkeeping and balance sheets.

Of course, you may want to say that you have a finance team. But it is also important to have such knowledge as the business owner.

5.Marketing storytelling

When you think about marketing, you’re thinking of strategies that you would deploy to reach out to new leads. The marketing team has the responsibility of getting people to know more about the brand and increasing its visibility.

However, one common factor about any marketing strategy is the art of storytelling. Therefore, one of the best courses to take as a business owner is marketing storytelling.

While trying to sell your brand, you need to do it in a way that appeals to the emotions of your potential customers. Else, the messaging would be bland and it wouldn’t compel anyone to pay attention to your brand. Hence, the importance of marketing storytelling

6.Content creation

We usually experience fuss and resistance from business owners when we mention that they need to take courses on content creation. Understandably, content creation isn’t. It is why there is usually a content team that handles content creation for social media. However, what happens when this team isn’t available.

Thus, every business owner should learn content creation to know ways to position content for socials. This way, you also have an idea of what the content team is doing and you can make inputs when necessary.

Even if it feels hard when you start, ensure that you do not give up.

7.HR Fundamentals

Human resources management is also another excellent course for business owners. By learning the fundamentals of human resources, you get to understand the importance of employee experience and engagement.

Are your employees happy to be a part of your brand? You know that you’re on the right path as a business owner when you have employees that are happy to identify with the brand. It is also best to keep in mind that your customers are your internal customers, so you need to pay attention to them.

With HR fundamentals, you also get to learn about payroll management, resources allocation, and lots more.  

8.Brand Management

How do you manage client expectations? How do you keep communication with clients during a contract period? You can get the right answers to these questions when you understand the essence of brand management.

Brand management also helps you set certain standards for your brand to ensure that it appeals to clients. There are certain requirements a client might want before they decide to align with your brand. And understanding brand management helps you to know these things.

You will learn how to carry out market and competitor analysis with the knowledge of brand management. All these will help to ensure that you stand out in the industry and be one of the top players.

9.Leadership

Yes you are the owner of the brand, but do you understand the concept of leader? Do you have what it takes to be a leader? We would say that this is one of the best courses that any business owner should take. It helps you build leadership qualities to ensure that you can effectively coordinate your employees and other subordinates.

One of the best qualities of a leader is when that leader knows how to be a follower and also command respect. All these play together to help the business owner build a solid brand.

We highly recommend leadership as one of the best courses to take as a business owner.

9.Risk management

We often hear that some businesses shut down due to certain risk factors. Then, we wondered if there was no team in charge of risk management. Even if the brand does not have a risk management team, does the brand owner not have a knowledge of risk management?

As a brand owner, you need the knowledge of risk management to start a business. It helps you anticipate the risk factors that can occur during the course of the business and how to make plans that cushion the effect of these risk factors.

Risk management is a continuous process, and having a knowledge of it always comes in handy.

We cannot wait to see what the year has in store for all business owners as we continue to give our support with our Kusnap platform. Ensure that you enroll for any of these courses to become a better business owner!

WAYS TO TRACK BUSINESS GROWTH

Business owners and entrepreneurs are usually excited and eager about the new year. As an entrepreneur, we know you have an outline of plans and strategies you desire to execute in the year.

Year in, and year out, you start the year on a high. But along the line, it seems things are going amiss. So what could be going wrong? What’s happening?

What’s happening is that you have not been keeping track of your business growth. You keep pumping in money and deploying strategies, but you have no idea if they are successful.

Business growth is the concept of how your brand is going. It could be either negative or positive. All classifies as growth. The trajectory the business is headed then determines your next course of action.

In this article, we’d tell you ways to track your business growth to have a strong brand.

Why You Should Track Business Growth

Before going any further, let’s discuss the importance of tracking business growth. When we tell business owners to track their business growth, they ask us why. For those who wonder why they should track business growth, let us explain with the points below.

• Helps with money management

Without a doubt, money is an integral part of any business. The finances you get from the business could help with running business operations, employee salaries, etc. Therefore, it is essential to know how effectively and adequately manage any money that comes into the business.

Sadly, you can only manage your money when you understand your business growth. For example, how you spend shouldn’t be the same at various seasons of the year. You get to know and understand your peak periods when you track your business growth.

By tracking your business growth, you know when the business gets the highest inflow of money. So, you can afford to use the money for various strategies at this point. However, you’d need to be more prudent with money during periods of low cash inflow.

Tracking your business growth helps you see your money from a different perspective, as you’d have a better bond with the business. In addition, it enables entrepreneurs to understand the concept of using money to invest back into the business to boost the brand.

You might feel that you have a good grasp on your business money. However, it can be better when you begin to track your business growth.

• Enables development of growth strategies

The concept of tracking your business growth also applies to the development of growth strategies. But first, what are growth strategies?

Growth strategies are the plans and processes you wish to deploy to ensure your business stays on top of the game. With the understanding that there are other players in the industry, entrepreneurs are constantly brainstorming ways to surpass their competitors.

Sadly, your growth strategies will only work if you understand your business trajectory. For example, you deploy high-level growth strategies during your peak sales period. However, it wouldn’t make sense to do so as you already get high sales during this period. It would be a waste of time, energy, and resources.

Instead, you should deploy these growth strategies during your low sales period. It helps to give you more sales, gives better visibility, and can even go further to increase market value.

Brainstorming growth strategies isn’t an easy process. Therefore, we advise you shouldn’t waste your growth strategies by deploying them at the wrong times.

It is best to study and know your brand by tracking business growth. Then, you can know the best times to deploy the growth strategies and enjoy the benefits.

• Helps to identify risk factors

Did you know that you can be running a business but still live in a bubble? Sadly, many business owners live in a bubble. They believe that everything is going well and their business is stable. But is the business stable?

We always advise all businesses to have a team that is specially dedicated to risk assessment. But if you do not track your business growth, you wouldn’t be aware of these risks, which can endanger your business in the long run.

A business can face compliance risks. The fact that you haven’t encountered issues yet with the authorities doesn’t mean it cannot eventually happen. Is your business compliant? Does the running and operations of your business align with laws and regulations? You can get answers to these questions if you track your business growth regularly.

Although this article is not dedicated to business risks, many financial risks are associated with running a business. It is what leads to the shutting down of many organizations.

Your aim should be to run a brand that stays relevant for years. Therefore, you should track business growth to determine risk factors early and devise solutions to combat these risks.

• It enables you to get more customer insight

So, you have been running your business for some years, but the business is stagnant. You have consulted people and deployed different strategies to boost the business, but nothing is working. The business isn’t gaining new customers, and your marketing team is under pressure as it seems nothing they do is working.

The issue could be that you need to understand your customers or target audience. On the other hand, it could be that your marketing communications are targeted at the wrong audience, or they are using the wrong concept to communicate to your target audience.

This happens because you do not understand your customer insight. And it is because you have not been tracking your business growth.

In this case, tracking business growth means finding out the type of people who patronize your business and make repeat purchases. How often do they buy? What sort of buying behavior do they exhibit? Have they made remarks or feedback that you can incorporate?

Once you begin to dig deep and get answers to these questions, you will track business growth and understand your customer insight better. Only then would your business begin to grow as you would know what to do and what to avoid as it concerns your customers.

• Allows for prioritization

Another importance of tracking business growth that is important for all business owners is that it allows for prioritization. Yes, we know that you may need clarification while reading this. What does prioritization have to do with running a business? We will explain!

The idea of prioritization in running a business is essential. It lets you know what to do at the right time. For example, you are deploying many strategies targeted at your external customers. Your sales keep increasing, and the business is moving. The organization has a steady cash flow, and you believe nothing could go wrong.

However, your internal customers (employees) are not happy. It could be that they feel overworked or overwhelmed. Therefore, we advise you to give adequate attention to your internal and external customers.

If you are not in the habit of tracking business growth, you wouldn’t know your employees’ worries. To you, the business is growing. But it is collapsing internally.

It is always best to remember that human structure is vital in running a business. With this example, the priority should be employee experience.

So, track your business growth to ensure that all aspects of the business are moving at the same pace.

How To Track Business Growth

Now that we have explained the concept of business growth and its importance, let’s check out ways to track it. These will come in handy for all business owners.

You can track business growth by:

• Customer acquisition

How regularly does your business get new customers? Are your customers the same people patronizing your business for years?

Of course, keeping your old customers is fine. But there is also a need to acquire new customers. If you rely on only your old customers, it shows that there isn’t enough business growth, and your brand could classify as a lazy one.

If you are not proactive, your competitors will keep taking all new customers. Therefore, your sales and marketing team should always be following up on new leads. Your business trajectory would increase when you regularly acquire new customers.

• Customer retention

Now, let’s talk about your old customer. Business growth can also reflect in how your customers make repeat purchases. There are instances where people patronize a brand and do not buy from that brand anymore. It shows they must have had a bad experience with the brand or something is wrong somewhere.

You can track your business growth by checking how people make repeat purchases. Yes, you are gunning to get new customers. However, it doesn’t mean you should drive away your old customers.

As a business owner, you should build a bridge in marrying all customers. Your brand has positive business growth when your old customers are intact.

• Revenue

Why are you running a business if you’re not making a profit from it? There is no need to still have a business if money isn’t coming in. So, revenue is one of the ways you can track business growth.

It is a negative sign if you notice that you spend more than you gain. It helps you have a sense of awareness and know that you need to backtrack to improve things.

The goal should be to increase your revenue yearly. It gives a boost to your brand, and you will be glad that you did. In addition, higher revenue makes you a happier business owner.

• Higher sales

Is there any business owner who wouldn’t be happy to have increasing sales? Of course not! Everyone wants to increase their sales; it is why entrepreneurs put pressure on their marketing and sales teams to get new leads and follow up on old ones.

Your sales rate is a factor you can use to track business growth. If people are always purchasing things from your brand, it shows high business growth and is a momentum you need to maintain.

The more sales you make, the higher the revenue the business generates and the more customers you will get.

• Employee performance and productivity

How well are your employees performing? It is an important question to answer as a business owner. In addition, getting the answer to this question helps track your business growth.

If you did not know, your employees are your internal customers, and you also need to make them happy. When your employees are happy and satisfied, they will perform better, boosting your business.

Sometimes, you could be the reason why your employees are not productive. Are you giving them a reason to want to remain with your brand? Is your brand contributing meaningfully to their career goals?

It would be best to focus on your internal employees the same way you focus on external ones.

Cheers to more increases as you do business this year! We are rooting for you!

HOW TO UNDERSTAND YOUR CUSTOMERS NEEDS

Do you know how to ascertain and understand your customers’ needs?

As the new year starts, this is an important question that every entrepreneur needs to understand. The entrepreneurship journey goes beyond wishing for new customers. Customer acquisition might be an essential aspect of the journey. However, it would help if you also strive for customer satisfaction and retention. And you can only achieve all these if you understand your customers’ needs.

Some entrepreneurs often need to avoid assuming the needs of their customers. It is one of the biggest mistakes you can make as a business owner, as it would affect the entire business.

We have found it essential to talk about customers’ needs. This article would be exploring how to understand the needs of your customers and also how to treat your customers better.

Ways to Understand Customer Needs

So, check out the various ways to understand customers’ needs below. In no particular order, they are:

• Create a user persona

Do you have a product or service you’re offering to your target audience?

If yes, you first need to create a user persona before trying to sell to them. You have to be a customer before you can sell to customers.

Creating a personality type for your audience is best. In creating the persona, you need to answer questions like the gender of your target audience. What age range are you looking at?

When you get the answer to these questions, you can get a feel of their personality. You can even interview people who fall within the age grade or category.

Creating a user persona gives you something to remember when dialoguing with your customers. You need to understand them better and know the best channels to use in communicating with them.

For example, it could be that the best way to get through to your customers is by radio or newspaper. So, you know that social media would be the wrong channel, and you should refrain from investing in it.

The first point of failure starts when you do not work with a user persona when interacting with your customers.

• Provide room for getting feedback

Asides from creating a user persona, you also need to provide room for regular communication with your customers. It is the only way to know their needs better and hear from them.

Feedback is always important when providing services for people. It lets you know if you’re serving them right and if they are satisfied. It is common for business owners to assume that their customers are satisfied. However, it could be that your customers want more, or they want things to be done differently.

You would only know about it if your business provided room for feedback. You can always reach out to your customers via calls to get feedback. Ask them if they are happy with your business and the services you are providing.

You can also create a form that you send to your customers regularly to hear what they think about your brand. Or, you can reach out to them via email.

One of the best ways of getting customer feedback is by having a social media profile. Here, your customers can reach out to you directly. You can also get a feel of what they think about your brand from the feedback they drop in your comment section.

• Carry out competitor analysis

What are your competitors doing?

First, it would be unwise to think that there are no other players in the market. You are not the only one providing the product and services. For example, you sell electronics. There are other electronics vendors across various cities in the country. So, you are sure to have various vendors competing for the same target audience.

Since there are many players in the industry, you need to be strategic about reaching out to your customers. Therefore, it would be in the right place to carry out competitor analysis. For example, you can check to see what your competitors are doing and how they satisfy their customers.

If people keep patronizing them, they are doing something right. And it would be best to emulate what they are doing as it shows that it is what customers love.

A smart business owner would take pointers from what competitors are doing and also add more to it to ensure that they boost their business. If you do not have the time to carry out this research, ensure that you have a handy team. This way, you can be sure that you wouldn’t miss out on anything.

• Put aside your assumptions.

Some business owners use their persona when relating with customers. However, it is always best to remember that you are not your customer. The fact that you like something does not mean that your customers would also like it. It is why we advised earlier that you should create a user persona.

It would be wrong to work with assumptions when relating with customers, as your assumptions could be damaging. Instead, when you think about something, talk it out with the research team. They would cross-check your assumptions with the target audience’s persona and see if it would work.

The fact that you are the business owner doesn’t mean that all strategies should be based on your bias. Unfortunately, some business owners are usually self-absorbed, leading to their downfall and that of the business.

Understandably, you are the boss and owner of the business. But the needs of your business should be the priority and not your personal needs. It is also why you need to work with business experts as an entrepreneur. These business experts would give you the best advice and help you navigate handling your assumptions versus the reality on the ground so that your business would succeed.

• Invest in studying customer data

What are the buying habits of your customers? How often do they patronize your business? These questions form the behavior of your target audience, and you need to get the answers. It is what we call customer data.

You would be chasing the wind without your customer data when running a business. When are your peak sales periods? If you do not know the answer to this question, how would you know when to restock a product or channel your best marketing strategies?

From your customer data, you can analyze and ascertain many things that would help in the better running of your business.

It could be that you offer many products and services to your customers. So, which is the most preferred of these products and services?

Entrepreneurs who invest time studying customer data are sure to excel more than those who ignore data. The importance of data analysis cannot be overemphasized. If you cannot do the work yourself, you can employ the services of a data analyst.

You should have a special team that gets you the desired data and helps with its interpretation if you’re looking to better and boost your business.

WAYS ENTREPRENEURS CAN TREAT THEIR CUSTOMERS BETTER

Now that you understand your customer’s needs, the next goal should be treating these customers better. As the new year commences, you need to prioritize your customers.

Using the 5As in customer service can help you serve your customers better.

They are:

• Acknowledge

Suppose your customer approaches you and expresses displeasure with your products and services. How would you react?

Understandably, some of you may feel defensive, and there could be the urge to start defending without listening to the complaint. However, it is a habit you must work on and drop if you want to treat your customers better.

The fact that the customer approached you shows that they value your brand and they want you to do better. So, the best thing is to listen attentively to the complaint. It is always best to view complaints as feedback that helps you grow your brand.

After hearing from the customer, you must acknowledge that you’ve heard the complaint. It would be best if you made the customer know that their feelings are valid and that you appreciate the fact that they could air out their displeasure.

This way, the customer sees you as a business owner who is always ready to listen and improve. Such a customer would always be ready to spread positive news about your brand to others. Acknowledging their complaints would go a long way in earning this customer as a brand, and you’ve got an advertiser in them.

• Apologize

The next thing you need to do after acknowledging the complaint is to apologize. You can’t say that you’ve heard what the customer has to say and dismiss the customer abruptly.

If you did not know, customers are like babies, and you must coddle them appropriately. So, it would be best if you thought of ways and strategies to deploy to appease your customers in cases of displeasure.

Once you’ve made the customer know that you hear their complaints, you need to apologize. First, make them know that it wasn’t your intention or that of your brand to cause them any inconvenience. Then, on the spot, ask the customer how you can make it up to them.

Assure the customer that such would not happen again, and you can even offer them a mini discount to compensate for the inconvenience. A little ‘sorry’ can go a long way in melting the heart of an angry customer.

No matter how angry a customer might be, how you approach the issue goes a long way. It can determine if that customer stays retained or not. So, ensure that your ego doesn’t get in the way and be generous with apologies to displeased customers.

• Act

Serving your customers better shouldn’t stop with apologizing. Apologizing without action means nothing. So, you need to get to the root of the problem and ensure that you get it fixed.

It could be that the customer complained about poor customer service. It means you need to do a review of your customer service team. You can even go the extra mile and enroll your customer service team members in courses that would improve them.

It would be best if you were proactive as a business owner. It is like noticing a weed amongst your crops as a farmer. Then, of course, you would swing into action and want the weed out so that you can have a bountiful harvest.

It also applies to your business. Once your customers have drawn your attention to an issue, ensure that you act on it and get it resolved immediately.

• Appreciate

So, your customers have been loyal to you all year round. They see your competitors but have chosen to stick with your brand. Irrespective of the hiccups and hitches, they believe in your brand and keep buying from you.

It isn’t easy to get to such a high level of customer retention. So, you need to appreciate these customers for always sticking with your brand. It could be by remembering their birthdays and always sending birthday messages or giving out coupons.

Appreciation doesn’t always have to be elaborate. Even little gestures can go a long way, showing that you have your customers at heart.

As a business owner, you must learn always to appreciate your customers to serve them better. After all, they could have taken their money elsewhere to patronize others, but they’ve stuck with you.

• Audit

Lastly, you must regularly audit the strategies you deploy when it concerns customer interfacing. For example, is it enough to only send out birthday messages? What if you go the extra mile and give a specific discount amount to customers on their birthdays?

You can also audit by checking the problems that people complained about. Then, after you’ve resolved the problem, you can send out forms and questionnaires to check if your customers are satisfied. You should always find a way to audit your business, as that is the only way to improve.

Running a business can be draining, but 2023 isn’t the year to give up. Instead, use all we’ve discussed to ensure that you retain your customers and serve them better!

How to Sell on Kusnap

Kusnap is an online buying and selling platform for entrepreneurs and businesses that wish to maximise their sales. Businesses are allowed to sign up and make sales on the kusnap website for little or no fee. Buyers have the opportunity to buy from a very wide range of sellers from different price points of products and services. Selling on kusnap is very seamless and profitable if you follow the required rules and regulations as provided by kusnap. If you’re planning to start selling on kusnap the information here are for you.

Rules for Selling on kusnap.com

Before you begin to sell any products or services on Kusnap you have to bear these in mind:

• The pictures of your products must be very clear to avoid your product upload from getting declined
• You must describe all your products with simple terms that are easy to understand by buyers
• You have to ensure that you understand the terms and conditions of the kusnap platform
• All your products must be permitted by law to be sold to the public
• Always post your products or services one after the other that is one at a time
• Always categorise your products or services properly to avoid misunderstanding
• All products and services must have a tittle that describes the product or service
• Know that buyers can return products they buy from you on kusnap with good reason if they relate not satisfied with the product, and you are obligated to attend to such buyers.
• Buyers can also raise a complain if they are not satisfied with a service rendered to them you as a seller
• You cannot sell hard drugs or other prohibited substances by the government in the jurisdiction of operation on Kusnap, as kusnap obeys the laws of their areas of operation.
• When sellers upload any prohibited items such items will not be put up on advertisement, if by mistake any prohibited items gets published on Kusnap, the owner of the product or service bears the consequences of such product or service when law enforcement gets informed not such.

Note that sometimes your product is services may be declined from getting published as a seller some of the reasons why your product or service may get declined for publishing include:

• If your product or service violates kusnap policy or is inconsistent with kusnap terms and conditions
• If you post more than one product or service in a single item. This means that you have to post products or services in separate adverts
• If your product picture is blurred and has bluntness
• If your product or service details are missing, your product or service will not be published by kusnap
• When your product or service price tag is not reasonable meaning that the price is way higher than the average market prices and value of the product or service.

How to register or create an account on kusnap

Selling and buying has continued to evolve over time with the improvement and advancement in technology. Kusnap perfectly fills the gap of buying with ease allowing sellers and buyers to interface and transact without having to physically meet or the sellers needing to have a physical shop. For you to be able to enjoy this service offered freely by kusnap you need to have an account with kusnap, in this article we will show you how to register for an account on kusnap.

What is Kusnap?

Kusnap is a online platform that allows users to create shops, to buy and sell. The main purpose of the website is to offer its users the possibility to buy and sell their good and services such as kitchen wares, backpacks, smartphones, tablets, electronic/phone gadgets and accessories, computers and accessories, toys and children games, fashion items, and several other items and services. When you transact on kusnap, your payments and transactions are between transacting parties kusnap just serves as an intermediary providing a platform for transacting parties to engage.

How to register an Account on Kusnap.com

Registering for an account on Kusnap is a very easy process that does not require any hassles to create an account on kusnap.com flow these steps:

• Visit kusnap.com and click the “Register” button on the top right hand corner of the website
• On the next page that will show you will be required to fill out the form for registration
• Fill in your Full name(sure name, first name and other names)
• Enter your desired username
• Enter your email address
• Confirm your email address
• Input your password of minimum of 6 characters consisting of alpha numeric characters
• Enter your password again to confirm
• You will be required to tell us how you heard about kusnap
• Then check the square box to agree to the terms and conditions of using kusnap. ( Before agreeing to the terms a d conditions ensure that you have read and understood the terms and conditions.)
• Click the register button to process your account registration and wait for a minute or less for your account to be created.
• You receive a successful account creation message on your screen

After registering for an account and your account gets created successfully , you will need to verify and complete your account creation by confirming your email address. On confirming your email address your account gets activated and you can begin to enjoy transacting buying and selling on kusnap.com. After Activating your account you will receive a welcome message from kusnap with instructions on what to do next and how to go about using the kusnap platform.

Conclusion

We hope this article has been helpful for you, to create an account or register on kusnap.com, go to the website to create a free account. Once there, you can enter all of your information in order to create your account. If you have any questions you can contact kusnap via the instant message platform on the website or via email on [email protected]

How to Create a Shop on Kusnap

Selling on kusnap is better done strategically to improve your sales volumes and the number of potential buyers that will have to see your product or service adverts. Selling as an individual on Kusnap may give you restricted view of your product or service adverts, but when you have a Kusnap shop then your chances of sales and visibility of your adverts will be greatly increased. A Kusnap shop does not come by default when you create an account on the kusnap website, you are required by kusnap to create a Kusnap shop separately to be attached to your Kusnap account.

How to Create Shop On kusnap.com

Creating a shop on Kusnap is a very easy process, that takes less than 3 minutes to complete if you meet all the requirements for creating a shop on Kusnap. To create a shop on Kusnap follow these steps:

• Login to your Kusnap account on kusnap.com
• From your account drop down menu click on “my shop” when you do this
• Click on create new shop on the top right hand corner of your screen, this will lead you to the shop creating form to be filled
• On the form page you will be required to put up a shop picture
• Then enter your shop name this is compulsory because without it you cannot have your shop creation processed
• Write a description of your shop, here you will tell your prospective buyers what your shop will be dealing on.
• Enter your phone number for easy communication with your customers
• Enter the physical address of your shop
• Input your proposed discount offer percentage, this is not compulsory hence you can decide to ignore it, but it will be to your advantage to give your potential customers a discount.
• After adding a discount percent or amount you will need to indicate by checking the box provided if the discount should be effected on all your product advertising on your shop or not.
• Click on the blue create shop button to have your shop created

After creating your shop, go on to begin uploading your products to get your products or services selling. With your shop created and running you will have better chance of getting your products in the faces of the millions of visitors to the Kusnap website.  After you have created your shop you can have to begin to add items you want to sell using your shop from the my shop section of your user account. Note that you can create multiple shops on the Kusnap website, this will help you to categorise your product and service offerings as need be.

Conclusion

Getting your shop set up on Kusnap is a very seamless process that takes you just having an account with Kusnap to get it done. With your shop on Kusnap you can get increase sales and have your products and services streamlined into their various adequate classifications and not having them all in one shop space, this you get to so without having to pay a dime as the shop creation is done for free.