Get ready for recovery
Is it? Isn’t it?
Will it? Won’t it?
Is the worst of the recession over and are we getting ready for the long awaited recovery? Who knows? If I did, I wouldn’t be writing this blog – I would be sitting on a beach in the Bahamas. In these times of uncertainly, if you can be sure of one thing- it’s the businesses that are prepared for the recovery that will most benefit from it. So what can you do to get your company ship shape to take advantage of all the undoubted opportunities that will be coming your way?
Here are our top ten heads up
1. Review – be honest dispassionate; look at where the business is now and where it needs to be in the future.
2. Cut supply cost – look at your whole supply chain: look for new suppliers offering better deals, re-negotiate with existing suppliers, and buy strategically with fewer suppliers rather than add hoc with lots.
3. Cash is king-tighten credit controls, use whatever leverage you can and monitor regularly.
4.Cut OK costs-concentrate on areas with the most savings, get staff ideas (they often are closes to spending waste) and be ruthless with “nice to have” costs.
5. Cut stock-keep your inventory to a minimum-convert old stock to cash, and reduce slow moving lines.
6. Staff-think outside the box regarding job roles and personnel. Keep and reward that add value to your business, and clean out those that don’t.
7. Processes- examine your procedures and invest in more efficient processes. Look for duplication and bottlenecks.
8. Outsource? A great way to make a fixed cost into a flexible one. But make sure it’s right for the business.
9. Location-not a realistic option for some businesses, but huge costs can be sauced by moving departments/functions abroad or even elsewhere in the UK.
10. Look after key customers-get closer to your customers, offer real value, and keep them interested and talking to you. Make judicial use of emailers, direct mail, face to face and sales promotion. The Corporate Gifts Co can supply executive incentives from; sterling silver to clocks and from USB drives to desk accessories. Call today on 0845 430 2902
Posts Tagged ‘engraving’
Get ready for recovery
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009STERLING SILVER
Tuesday, September 1st, 2009STERLING SILVER
The hallmark of quality; how often you heard that phrase? So why is the hallmark synonymous with the concept of quality?
Hallmarking precious metals was one of the very first instances of consumer protection in history; devised in Birmingham, England as a means of verifying the quality of the material goods were made of and protecting consumers from unscrupulous traders – not much has changed has it?
As silver plate is essentially a thin layer of sterling silver on top of a base metal such as brass or zinc alloy, it is difficult for the layman to tell the difference. The hallmark therefore, is indisputable proof that an item is made from sterling silver or another precious metal.
The hallmark is made up of symbols that denote; the year it was made, the assay office it was verified at, the maker, and the grade of precious metal. Most common are 925 silver, 9ct, 18ct and 24ct gold.
The Corporate Gifts Company have a comprehensive collection of sterling silver promotional items from business card cases to bookmarks and from photo frames to paperweights. All can be diamond engraved using our in – house engraving facility. We can also design special commissions and bespoke items in sterling silver and solid gold such as; cufflinks and corporate jewellery or keyrings and personal accessories. Our in – house design team can supply FOC visuals – just ask the sales team.
STAFF INCENTIVE SCHEMES
Thursday, August 27th, 2009The carrot or the stick- the age old question when it comes to staff motivation. In the 21st Century we like to think we’re a little more enlightened – no dark satanic mills for us, no sir. In a job market where the employee is king (well, until the recession came along, that is) it’s been all carrot and no stick.
And whilst the economic downturn may well have “redressed” the balance somewhat, the future is still orange! And it’s not all about money, other factors such as job security (very topical) and career developments are big winners. So what are the key issues to consider?
WHAT’S IN IT FOR THE COMPANY?
It’s very easy to get caught up with what works for the employee. Any scheme or incentive must be aligned with business goals and objectives. As with Investors in People, training incentives must have bottom line benefits for the company.
CREATE OWNERSHIP
Get your team involved up front. Buy in will come from involvement and that will effectively drive performance. Listen to what really motivates them and centre on that and that will effectively drive performance. Listen to what really motivates them and centre on that, especially for goal hungry sales staff.
BE COMPETITIVE
Check out the competition and make sure your scheme is up to scratch. Otherwise …..
MEASURE
If it can be measured, it can be managed. Staff will respond better to specific, measurable targets. Build in those KPI’s (key performance indicators).
EVALUATE
Don’t cast anything in stone; test, evaluate, review and develop. Failing schemes can be de-motivating and may see staff walk.
REWARD AND RECOGNISE
Finally, don’t forget to make individual or team achievements public and visible.
The Corporate Gifts Company has loads of great ideas to help your motivation scheme along. Staff will be highly motivated by awards, plaques, corporate jewellery such as lapel badges, or a well chosen gift to say thank you such as sterling business card case.
Make your promotion special
Friday, August 21st, 2009Make your promotion special
Promotional campaigns come in all shapes and sizes. Quantities, target audience etc all vary; from hundreds of thousands of plastic pens at a few pence as give–aways, to a prestigious item for heads of state. When budgets are squeezed like now, there is always awareness that a “special” corporate gift for selected customers or staff can have a bigger impact and can be more cost effective than adapting a scattergun approach that is so often prevalent when times are better and budgets are more liberal. If you allocate the same budget but purchase fewer items coupled with a targeted approach, your promotional campaign can be cost effective with greater results
Segmentation of your database is key. You can slice your pie any number of ways (dependant on your goals and targets along with your particular market) from top spenders to key decision makers, or from most profitable customers to lapsed customers. Good data, of course, is essential, and put good use a series of highly targeted campaigns to defined customer groups will always be better than a blanket campaign to your whole database.
The Corporate Gifts Company
specialise in high – end business gifts and executive incentives ideal for targeted promotions. Engraving individual names onto a corporate gift such as a desk item adds little cost will have a huge impact. So, the next campaign you plan, try to segment into customer groups with different messages and choose your corporate gifts accordingly.
Make your promotion special
Why Investors in people is good for our customers
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009Why Investors in people is good for our customers
Recent research from Cranfield School of Management pinpoints exactly how Investors in People make a dynamic difference to the bottom line. Investors in People has always been more than an’ act of faith’ by most recognized organisations. Direct experience of benefits has been confirmed in recent years by reports from organisations like the Confederation of British Industry, The Institute of Employment Studies and the Central Office of Information which showed the strong connection between using the Investor in People framework and business improvement. This culminated recently in research from the Institute of Employment which illustrated that the financial benefit of being an Investor of People amounts to an average of an extra £176 per employee in gross profit, every year. Why does Investors in People produce these benefits and what are the key factors between Investors in People and bottom line profitably? Cranfield School of Management’s research showed exactly how Investors creates the conditions in which the organisation performs better and more profitably. At the centre of Cranfield analysis was what was referred to as a “chain of impact.” This was based on the idea that the positive changes in a way an organisation operates ripple out producing, in their own turn a series of other changes in what becomes a virtuous circle of improvement. Other result from being Investors in People – includes levels of customers satisfaction, the ability to recruit and retain other employees, the quality of employee relationships and also by how well the organisation’s products and services are perceived.
The Corporate Gifts Company have held the Investor of People status since 2005 and we strongly believe that this enables staff to be more committed, also better trained and more knowledgeable through out the business. This means our customers get the best possible service from initial enquiry, through to through to advice on branding your corporate logo, from production and despatch through to after sales.
Call our expert sales team on 0845 430 2902 and see for yourself!
