While we still get a little shock of excitement each time we’re handed a new pound coin, despite them being in circulation for well over a month now, it’s a testing time for the currency’s value. With Brexit and next month’s general election to consider, Business Insider’s collated analysts have predicted an unsteady future for sterling, with some expecting a further drop in value.
A weak pound may not be a convenient situation for every SME, but that also doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be a bad one if you know how to tackle the effects and become more cost-efficient. Here are a few ways you can help save your business money in this less than favourable time.
Capitalise on free publicity
As beneficial as targeted publicity can be to business, especially a relatively young one, you can often reach just as relevant an audience without paying for the advertising space. In an age where the media is saturated with advertisements, potential customers are increasingly less likely to pay attention; a trend which is even more prevalent online where ad block technology is used by around a quarter of surfers, as Adweek has reported. Penning a press release surrounding new developments in your business instead will save you spending on advertising and would likely be picked-up by your local paper to run a piece to be seen by the same readership.
Ensure accessibility
We all know that making sure customers can successfully access your business’ services is key, but what about your employees? As much of a given as it sounds, ensuring your staff can do their job with as little obstruction as possible can save you more costs than you realise. Make sure all the information they could need is easy to access, especially for your remote colleagues, by making full use of cloud storage for your files.
Remember to communicate
In addition to ensuring your employees have what they need, don’t forget you also need them. You may be used to calling your employees on the road and elsewhere on the phone, but the voice call function on mobile messaging apps does the job just as well without the worry of using up your valuable contracted minutes.
Communication with customers is also key to success. Consider using contact center automation so when customers call they can get the help they need. This way you don’t have to pay a bunch of employees to answer questions that an automated call system could.
Invest in interns
Every enterprise has its busy periods and, if you’re fortunate, they can continue for longer than expected. When the workload increases, you may need more staff to keep efficiency up, but you don’t need to break your wage budget. Bringing interns to your business benefits everyone involved; students nowadays know they need working experience as well as academic success to be able to begin a career, so will be eager to help, and you can increase productivity while saving money.
Keep on track
Staff meetings are of course a valuable aspect of running a successful business, but they can also hinder progress if organised at the wrong time. If you’re holding them at times where your staff could be producing work or creating leads, or you need your remote colleagues to make their way to the office more than necessary, you’re already losing money. Keep them brief and keep them timely to benefit the business.
Look to lease
While buying is the preferred approach for a lot of business aspects, leasing can be considerably beneficial when you’re looking to be cost-efficient with your vehicles. Due to depreciation through usage, monthly payments for leasing are lower than any finance agreements and also don’t conclude with a lump sum to be paid at the end of the contract. Other costs associated with company vehicles, such as maintenance, can also see savings through leasing; with packages like Leasewell’s Business Contract Hire van leasing plans including these extras to keep yours running smoothly without any unexpected costs.