Start Up

START UP: A Quick Guide on Your New Business 100 managed. For instance, if the businesses are situated on opposite sides of the city, then navigating back and forth between the two businesses or companies will be quite a hassle. When launching another business, seek the help of advertising experts and use different outlets such as social media to reach target customers. Proper marketing strategy will be a big help in the success of the new business. Lastly, expansion also means expanding all of the aspects of the business, including the workforce and the budget. Make sure to review resources particularly. The basic rule before starting a second business is to check whether the existing budget allows the addition of another venture or business. Remember, opening a new business is no walk in the park. It also entails hiring new staff and supervisors to take care of the fundamental operations for the business. It may take a lot of sacrifices from the business owner to be able to do this. 5. Passion Among all the things, this is the most important factor needed for a businessman to succeed. Just like in the business that was first opened, business owners have to be equally passionate about the second. Make the business an extension of the business owner’s personality and a reflection of themselves. Lastly, pick an industry where new ideas and opportunities are overflowing and inspiring. This will help provide stronger motivation and drive to attain bigger successes not just for the new company but for both businesses.

START UP: A Quick Guide on Your New Business 101 The level of passion that the business owner provides to each of their business will be the backbone of the companies being developed and geared for prosperity.

START UP: A Quick Guide on Your New Business 102 4 Easy Ways To Generate Leads For Startup Businesses In every business, generating leads should be among the top priorities. For a business to grow, having sufficient knowledge on the most suitable methods of generating additional leads is of the utmost importance. But, if a startup or a business simply does not have enough lead generation strategies at its disposal, implementing the right tools and resources to carry out these tactics may not be as effective. In truth, there are several available strategies for lead generation. However, the sheer number of strategies available can be overwhelming. That said, startups and businesses with no clue of how and where to start can always kickstart with these 4 simple and easy techniques for generating leads:

START UP: A Quick Guide on Your New Business 103 1. Content Marketing Creating high-value content is a great method to establish SEO for the brand’s website. Apart from reinforcing the brand’s visibility on the internet, relevant content likewise showcases the extent of knowledge that the business has about the industry where it belongs. Content marketing aids in enhancing the business website’s online presence by hiking up its ranking on search engines. Content marketing should not only be limited to the use of blog posts as the lead-driving tool. Other forms of content, such as ebooks, explainer videos, wiki guides, and in-depth case studies can also contribute to making the business more relevant and credible. The content must also be relevant to the target audience. For example, if the target audience belongs to the marketing industry, Send out content that is relevant to them. Adapt to them by giving pieces of content that are best suitable for their needs. Determine what specific topics are relevant to them and take note of the different writing formats that they prefer. Marketing-savvy individuals or groups may prefer content with eye-catching visuals, or articles that feature statistical graphics to help them absorb the information more easily. 2. Email Marketing After building a palpable presence on the internet, it is time for the business to venture into other methods of generating more leads. Email marketing can be a great channel for businesses to connect with customers.

START UP: A Quick Guide on Your New Business 104 Choose an email platform that is most suitable for the business. Use the email platform to create personalized emails that will include all service or product-related information that the customer will benefit from. A single, personalized email alone can generate up to 6 times more leads as compared to when effective email marketing is not utilized. When creating customer-centric emails, remember to link the content to the brand’s website or social media page(s). Doing so significantly drives higher click rates and traffic to the website or page, thus increasing the probability that the business will appear more frequently on search results and page suggestions. When employing email marketing, it is important to keep track of the progress and success of each email campaign sent. This will help test, modify, and improve future email marketing approaches to ensure that the right audience is targeted and retained. 3. PPC through Facebook Ads Aside from email marketing, the constant improvements on social media platforms, particularly on Facebook, provide an effective channel where businesses can keep in touch with their audience. Facebook Ads provide businesses with the capability to customize their ads to suit the interests and preferences of their customers. Ads on Facebook can be aimed and filtered more specifically based on categories such as age, location and interests. Be more specific in creating ads. Avoid creating ads that are not relevant to the service being offered or promotions that do not highlight what the customers need and demand. Otherwise, it will only confuse the intended

START UP: A Quick Guide on Your New Business 105 audience and drive away potential customers. Worse, irrelevant ads may push customers to tag or report the business as a scam. Presentation matters as well. An engaging ad helps bolster the number of potential customers that will avail the services or products offered by the business. Lastly, run ads based on what is called a ‘lookalike audience’, or social network users grouped together using a specific set of algorithms. A lookalike audience is tailored to resemble a particular group of customers. Fashion Facebook Ads to respond to a lookalike audience. This helps in extending the business’ audience reach and promoting the brand to a wider range of Facebook users who may possibly be interested in engaging with the business. 4. Discounts People are usually enticed by affordable rates or discounted prices. Offering discounted rates to coincide with a startup’s opening or an upcoming holiday is a smart way to entice more leads. Discounts suggest the idea of saving more money for customers. As such, when strategically paired with a particular holiday or event, discounted rates have a higher probability of shifting the spotlight from competitors to the brand. After all, carefully planned discounts are usually irresistible for most customers. Distributing discount coupons is also effective in generating leads. In the coupons, include the business’ logo, along with the business’ address, website and social media page(s). Add the business’ tagline or a short, promotional message to leave a more lasting impact to the customers.

START UP: A Quick Guide on Your New Business 106 Promotions and discounts can also be disseminated digitally by creating banners and pop-ups that will be featured on the business’ website and/or social media page(s). Every successful business started out as a beginner, and generating leads is no exception. It does not matter what type of services a business is offering or what demographic of customers are being targeted. All businesses should spend time improving lead generation rates and employing better, more innovative ways to make it possible. A systematic and effective method of generating leads means being able to respond to the audience’ demands while staying true to the business’ objectives.

START UP: A Quick Guide on Your New Business 107 3 Amazing Tips To Providing The Best Customer Service For Startups Businesses “The customer doesn’t care how much you know until they know how much you care” – Damon Richards What is the first thing that comes to mind when the words ‘Customer Service’ are introduced? Though answers may vary from people to people, there is one idea that rings as a universal truth for the majority of customers and business owners: Customer service exists to deliver 100% customer satisfaction. It may seem like a simple undertaking to fulfill, but the process it takes to deliver customer service that people will positively respond to is a lot more complicated and intricate than it seems. This leaves owners of startup

START UP: A Quick Guide on Your New Business 108 businesses questioning whether providing the best customer service is truly possible. Truth be told, there are 3 amazing, tried-and-tested tips that startup businesses can use to deliver the best customer service: 1. Listen Listening is very important if business owners wish to deliver the best customer support among their competitors. The act of listening with an open ear and mind is a vital key that shows business owners are one with their customers. The first step to ensuring that proper listening skills are exercised to all types of customer concerns is hiring support representatives with the right qualifications. Ideally, support representatives must have the ability to convey empathy and leave a positive impact on customers—the kind that will leave them satisfied and looking forward to another amazing experience with the next support representative that will correspond to their queries in the future. The best support personnel is able to comply with customers’ requests, resolve varying levels of customer-related issues, and accept constructive feedback. Customers come in different personalities. At the same time, customer demands differ from time to time. By consistently lending each customer query and feedback an open ear, it is not impossible to deliver high quality, round-the-clock assistance.

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START UP: A Quick Guide on Your New Business 110 2. Maintain Customer Service Ethics Picture the business as a person and customer service as its default disposition. It is every business’ responsibility to know the value of putting the customer first. A business cannot last long without a solid community of customers. They have the power to make or break a brand. On the contrary, it cannot be denied that the slogan, “The customer is always right” can, at times, be abused by some customers—to the point where the business gets the short end of the stick for trying to appease customers who are obviously in the wrong. However, not all customers abuse their limitations. There are still a great many customers who are able to provide objective criticism and honest-to-goodness feedback to the businesses that they support. These types of customers are to be considered a gem. Customers who are able to provide unwavering support should be the reason why startup businesses need to exert efforts in delivering fast and reliable service every time a customer reaches out to them. Customers tend to get impatient whenever they are met with sluggish service. Seamless assistance and transaction should be practiced at all times. Treat customers with respect and with full honesty. Make them feel comfortable when they are communicating with support representatives. Show them that that brand is a name they can trust. Enhancing the business’ reputation with good customer service ethics should be the first thing that startup businesses want to attain. 3. Connect

START UP: A Quick Guide on Your New Business 111 A support representative cannot be considered as one if people or customers find it difficult to connect with them. It is important to have a direct connection with the customers. Connecting positively with customers plays a vital role in all types of businesses. Connecting with customers means knowing and understanding what their needs are. It likewise translates to consistently and promptly notifying them on updates about their requests and complaints. It is about being relentless in helping customers find the most suitable solution to their concerns. Support representatives of startup businesses who are able to communicate well with their customers do not wait before customers complain about the same type of unresolved problem. That said, startup businesses need to make sure that their customer support services is always at its best to efficiently preempt additional questions relevant to the customer’s concern. This can help resolve the issue faster. Bonus tip: Customer assistance with round-the-clock service availability is a must-have. There is no telling when exactly a customer will be in need of assistance. That is why, enabling 24/7 availability makes businesses better equipped to meet customer’s demands. Customers are the reason why businesses exist. Without customers, there will be no profit or income. They are the lifeline of every business. Giving them the quality service that they deserve is crucial because it is one of the best ways brands can reciprocate their patronage.

START UP: A Quick Guide on Your New Business 112 4 Vital Benefits of Explainer Videos for Businesses 64% of business owners say explainer videos boosted sales. By consistently crafting visually appealing and animated explainer videos, you persuade, entertain, and inspire people to discover more about your brand. The average attention span of online audiences is 8 seconds, and explainer videos are effective to grab and keep the interest of most users. Particularly, it is a useful method of providing information to users who want to learn more about a certain product or those in search of specific solutions to their needs. There is no doubt that explainer videos are an excellent marketing tool at present. Your business needs to establish its brand identity to continuously acquire new customers. By explaining your main purpose and the beneficial effects of

START UP: A Quick Guide on Your New Business 113 your products through a video with an easy-to-digest format, customers will have a weighty reason for giving their full trust and support to your brand. However, there is more to what explainer videos can do for your business. Explainer videos, which have exhibited a dramatic increase in popularity in this digital age, have many benefits to businesses of all sizes. How Can An Explainer Video Help Scale Your Business? 1. It Improves your Google Ranking Google loves videos. If your site has explainer videos, it is crucial to leverage tags, titles, meta descriptions, rich snippets, and thumbnails to your advantage. Doing so enables customers to find your videos instantly and use it as a reference for the information or solution that they seek. The interesting videos embedded in your site can likewise influence customers to remain on your site for a longer period of time. As a result, Google’s algorithm will interpret this as a positive message that your site contains valuable information and reliable answers to customer queries and issues. Increased credibility and customer trust help your website rank higher. 2. It Increases Conversion Rates and Sales Explainer videos serve as your elevator pitch. If your video content has a compelling narrative and provides all the important details that customers need in their buying decision process, customers will trust your business. When customers begin trusting your business, it will often lead them to make a purchase within 24 hours.

START UP: A Quick Guide on Your New Business 114 Explainer videos uploaded or posted on social media platforms such as Facebook or YouTube provide useful end-user data. Each video displays the number of views, average view duration, likes, comments, and shares it has garnered from its audience. All these information are valuable in helping you create more engaging and relatable videos in the future. For instance, video insights provide reports about the most popular products, thereby enabling you to pinpoint which products need to be improved. 3. It Portrays your Brand’s Unique Personality Did you know that you can use explainer videos to showcase your brand’s culture and personality and connect with your customers on a deeper level? One benefit of producing videos is that it enables brands to convey the emotion that captures the right audience. Thus, when creating one, remember to make it entertaining and visually stunning regardless of the tone you will choose to use. It is important for businesses, especially for those mainly operating online, to note that customers will not be able to have direct contact with them. Explainer videos are a golden opportunity for businesses to create meaningful connections and solidify customer relationships. Portraying a brand’s distinct culture or personality increases familiarity among customers. The more familiar customers become with your brand, the more comfortable they will feel about interacting with you in an effort to learn more about the products and services you offer. 4. It is Shareable Social media allows the sharing of content across all other platforms. It is crucial to share your explainer videos to all of your social channels every time that you have a new video to upload. Consistently updating your social media pages with new videos relevant to your services enables your business to reach a wider audience. Even better, social media and search engine

START UP: A Quick Guide on Your New Business 115 algorithms may suggest your videos to customers who may potentially be interested in your products. The best part is that your explainer videos have the possibility to go viral when potential leads and existing customers share your explainer videos on their feed and recommend it to their friends and family. Here’s a helpful tip: Make an effort to create powerful captions when sharing explainer videos on your pages. Captions with clear CTAs and proactive words increase click-through rates. An impressive caption should be able to tell viewers why the video is worth their time. Closing Thoughts With the tough competition in the market, you need to keep up with the major trends in digital marketing, and that includes producing explainer videos. Your explainer videos must be tailored to help your customers understand the usefulness of your product better. More importantly, introducing your product and explaining its advantages will compel customers to choose your business over your competitors. If you don’t have sufficient manpower to create explainer videos, the best way is to outsource it to professional video editors who possess the right skills needed to produce engaging content and effectively convince your customers to make a purchase.

START UP: A Quick Guide on Your New Business 116 How To Make Excellent Video Content Without Breaking The Bank For Startups Today, the majority of worldwide consumers prefer video content over written content. A 2017 report by Magisto stated that businesses spend more than $20,000 annually for creating video content. This is due to the fact that Video Content for advertising is easier to comprehend and remember. The trends in digital content marketing continue to change as newer channels for advertising businesses are being developed. These trends include the need to adapt to an increasingly fast-paced and enticing way to get customers’ attention and ensuring they get the brand’s message across.

START UP: A Quick Guide on Your New Business 117 How can startups produce quality video content for their business? The answer is simple: Form a team of professionals specializing in designing branding and promotional videos. Hiring a professional video production crew can be expensive especially for startups whose budget is being maximized for other fundamental parts of the business. But today, businesses can already produce great video content even with a minimal budget. That being said, to be able to successfully maximize the business’s budget for video content production, it is important to have these 4 key members for their ideal video content marketing team: 1. CAMERAMAN Video content production is impossible without having the person-in-charge behind the camera. Hiring a good cinematographer is a good way to start this—that is, if the business has enough budget for this. However, working with low to zero budget can give a tough time for businesses to employ a professional cinematographer. One way to solve this is to find someone within the four walls of the company with the strongest command on the camera. Given the fact that the current generation is so obsessed with social media, there is a possibility that business owners don’t need to look too far to find someone who is good at operating the camera. They can actually give the business advantages when it comes to conveying the company’s unique structure and story. 2. WRITER In order to execute each video systematically, it is important to have a writer. Writers can easily plan out the details of the video content. They are able to

START UP: A Quick Guide on Your New Business 118 provide a message that the video will help convey to the audience in a more appealing manner. Meanwhile, when planning and writing video content, there are factors that should be considered, such as: ● Key Message ● Type of Video Content to be used (Interview, product review, company culture, presentation, etc.) ● Call-to-action ● Duration ● Bonus footage (Behind the Scenes, Teasers, etc.), if any Another thing to keep in mind is how the content in the video is conveyed to the audience. It is also important to predetermine the approach of the video. Will it be professional-looking to grab the attention of investors and CEO’s? Or will it be a fun-filled approach to appeal to a younger audience? The best way to determine these is to look for videos on Youtube, Vimeo or other video streaming platforms to know how to make effective techniques in creating more expressive video content. 3. SOUND EFFECTS ARTIST or SOUND DIRECTOR Sound is one of the fundamental factors in video content making. It helps the video penetrate not only the sense of sight but also the auditory senses of the audience. However, some filmmakers, especially amateurs, usually overlook the power of sound in their video not knowing that it gives a great impact on the intended message of their video. Imagine filming an interview with a guest while kids playing and laughing can be audibly heard in the background. It causes an unnecessary distraction on the part of the viewers.

START UP: A Quick Guide on Your New Business 119 A sound effects artist can add the right background music or sound to add impact to a video. A sound director, on the other hand, can ensure that the video has the right scoring for its audio and background noise is likewise minimized segments for the video are being shot. Startup’s working with a minimal budget should consider adding a sound effects artist or sound director when creating their very own video content marketing team. If the video content requires interviewing a public figure or official, startups should be able to sign a model release form that enables the video content creation team to show their footage publicly under legal structures. 4. VIDEO EDITOR Editing comes last in making video content. Although hiring a professional editor is a great way to nail this, their service charge can be expensive as well. As for businesses that operate with a minimal budget, editing can be done in-house. Being a professional video editor is not required as video editing software has become cheaper and more user-friendly today. This can help the business to edit their content in-house. Here are some basic steps on how to edit a video content: ● Upload all the footage into the editing platform. ● Sync up the recorded sound, if there are any to the footage. ● Sift all the footages and pick the usable ones from those that are not. ● Arrange all footage in the proper sequence to help the video tell the story in the most compelling way possible. ● Add relevant sound for the intro and outro of the video.

START UP: A Quick Guide on Your New Business 120 ● Add graphics and designs. Consider adding the company logo or name. Consider adding lower thirds to the interview as well. Lower thirds introduce the person being interviewed in the video by appearing at the bottom part of the video that contains the name and position of the one being interviewed. ● Plan how the video will end. Remember to add the business’ website and social media accounts to boost site traffic and audience engagement. Adding calls-to-action can make it even accessible and clear throughout. Possessing the right team and tools in making video content is one way to thrust a startup’s brand to the top. Startup owners must always remember that there are practical alternatives to video content creation which they can use to help maximize their resources and extend their full potential.

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