by tradespeopleinsights | May 6, 2015 | Uncategorized
Today, we have a guest blog from Emily Hunter on the importance of forecasting and budgeting when making smart financial and HR decisions in planning a successful business model.
Why Forecasting and Budgeting are Vital to Success
There are countless aspects to running a successful enterprise, and forecasting and budgeting are amongst the most important. Without a proper focus on these aspects, a business can easily spend too much money, make errors in hiring and have different departments in a company working toward competing goals. Let’s take a look at some of the more important reasons that budgeting and forecasts are so vital to keeping your business in sync.
Planning for the Unexpected
One mishap or emergency can sometimes spell disaster for the entire company. Being ill-prepared for these events can result in a company going out of business or, best-case scenario, having a long run of unprofitable months. This is where budgeting and forecasting models are so essential. Though a time may never come when a contingency plan is necessary, having one in place is still important.
Forecasting potential issues can help a company stay afloat if, for instance, a top producer in the corporation departs. Having a financial plan set up to keep a company going strong in this instance, and in many others, prevents any one department, individual or another aspect of a company from being the only thing keeping it successful.
Making Appropriate HR Decisions
Some companies hire an overabundance of new employees with the idea that they’ll need them in the long run. This can be an unfortunate decision if proper budgeting and forecasting solutions aren’t implemented. Discovering that unnecessary resources are being spent can sometimes result in angry former employees and increased unemployment insurance costs.
Fortunately, enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions can help in this situation. Because these types of tools allow multiple departments to simultaneously access information and data related to inventory management, product planning, marketing and a variety of other aspects, it’s easier to forecast staffing needs instead of making pointless hires. In the end, this can save untold expenditures in training and other human resources expenses.
Improving Income Statements
Operational plans are essential to forecasting projected income for a corporation. Making them more efficient is a great way to improve budgeting and forecasts, and thus be prepared for events which could impact a company’s progress. Creating these plans is much easier and produces better results when cash flow statements and balance sheets are integrated between all departments.
Increasing Good Collaboration
Effective budgeting and forecasting tools can also ensure that collaborative projects run much more smoothly and efficiently at any company. Simply imagine an individual ordering inventory without realizing that another employee has just made a huge sale that will diminish much that is on hand. Similarly, someone focusing solely on inventory without realizing that the approaching month’s sales will be slower can result in overstock.
ERP software can go a long way to prevent such mistakes from occurring. All employees who would benefit from access to the forecast model can be added to the shared permissions for any collaborative sections. This allows for more cooperative human resources; when each employee knows the full circle of their tasks, it is less likely that costly mistakes will be made.
Recognizing Growth Opportunities
Properly created budgeting and forecasting models allow a company to make informed decisions on whether or not they can expand. By using the reports derived from this data, it’s possible to answer questions such as: “Can we afford another employee in Department X,” or “Will increasing production result in enough sales to still cover overhead costs while still turning a profit?”
There are not many aspects of a company that the elements of forecasting and budgeting do not directly affect. Because of this, an ERP software solution containing these elements is certainly amongst the best software investment a budding entrepreneur can include in their budget. The aforementioned benefits are just a small sampling of what a successful budgeting and forecasting model can do to ensure your company’s ultimate success.
Emily Hunter is a SEM Strategist and Outreach Supervisor at the Marketing Zen Group, working closely with TGO Consulting. She loves designing strategies with her team and is excited about spreading the Zen gospel. In her spare time, she cheers for Carolina Crown and Phantom Regiment, crafts her own sodas, and crushes tower defense games. Follow her on Twitter at @Emily2Zen
by tradespeopleinsights | May 5, 2015 | Uncategorized
And Did You Know It Happened?
By Chris Ilcin, Account Superintendent at Sonnhalter
(image courtesy of CNET)
On April 21st, Google changed its search results algorithm.
Sounds boring, right? Well the results of that change may impact your business more than you think. As of that Tuesday, nicknamed Mobilegeddon by various media outlets, the mobile friendliness of a site is now a more important factor in ranking mobile search results. Why the change? Because the way we access the web is changing.
Last year, it was estimated that over half (60% by some estimates) of all online traffic was from mobile devices. Facebook reports that 85% of daily access to its site is from mobile devices, and last holiday season, Amazon stated that 60% of all sales were from, you guessed it, mobile. At the same time, Google’s dominance in mobile has slipped. As more and more mobile search comes from apps rather than true search, so has their share of traffic and revenue. In 2014, they reported 68% of all mobile search revenue. Impressive, but dramatically down from the 82.8% only 2 years earlier.
So What Can You Do?
First and foremost, find out how mobile friendly your website is. Google has a site, here, that will score your site (tradesmeninsights.com scores an “awesome”) Now that you know, there are several steps you can take:
- Add some elements to your pages to make them more user-friendly:
- Have text that is readable without tapping or zooming
- Make sure tap targets are spaced appropriately
- Avoid unplayable content and horizontal scrolling
- The update applies to individual pages, not entire websites, so make sure your most critical pages such as product pages, receive mobile makeovers first.
- Pages being a good search match still trump mobile-friendliness, so make sure you know how people search. Customers probably aren’t searching by product number, so make sure your pages contain common keywords and industry-specific slang.
- This new criteria only applies to mobile searches, so know how your customers are finding you. It may be that you don’t need a mobile strategy right now. But keep in mind that the biggest name in search has a mobile strategy, so soon you’ll need one too.
by tradespeopleinsights | Apr 29, 2015 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing
By John Sonnhalter, Rainmaker Journeyman at Sonnhalter
Think about the people you care about and like both in your personal life as well as your professional one. I bet one of the reasons you like them is because they take the time to listen.
You know it’s hard to have a conversation with someone who’s always talking. In business, I think the best salesmen are the ones who take the time to find out what the customer’s problem is and then offers options for fixing it.
I find that those same people who want to talk a lot don’t worry much what’s said about their company or brand on the internet, and that could come back to bite them big time in the long run.
I recently read a post by Zoe Summers in Social Media Examiner that outlines ways to use listening in your business life (social listening is also known as social media monitoring). Here are some highlights:
- Generate leads by solving problems
- Attract new customers
- Discover where your target audience hangs out
- Use as a customer care tool
- Get feedback on new products
Another post by Jay Baer, 6 Parts of Your Company That Should be Listening to Social Conversations, I found extremely interesting and wanted to share some highlights. Some are obvious; others we all should put on our list.
- Sales – Listening programs give you the opportunity to find prospects when the timing is perfect and when they’re actually asking for answers you have.
- Marketing and PR – Listening helps make sure that the language you’re using as a company is the same language being used by the people you’re hoping to hook.
- Customer Service – Customers are airing their concerns, questions and grievances over social media channels, especially if traditional channels prove less than helpful.
- R&D – You can fuel your idea engine by harnessing the input, thoughts and creativity of the online audience.
- HR – The obvious potential here is talent recruiting, in both finding potential employees and examining their online social graphs.
- Executives and Management – They can understand market trends through the unfettered viewpoint of the online masses and determine whether they’re behind, ahead of, or riding the curve.
So next time, whether it’s online or in person, take a deep breath and listen first.
by tradespeopleinsights | Apr 28, 2015 | Marketing Tips
By Rachel Kerstetter, PR Architect, Sonnhalter
Last fall, Sonnhalter was recognized by HubSpot as an agency that “gets” positioning and has found its focus. (Check out the blog post here.)
It’s no secret that we’re known for our B2T marketing communication niche and that we really dig in and get our hands dirty. But the question we often get is:
“Does B2T limit you?”
The short answer is “No!” The opportunities in our niche seem limitless, in fact more than half of our business is generated by relationships with brands located outside of our hometown.
A deep understanding of the audience of the B2T marketplace not only helps us help our clients, but it also helps us form relationships.
Truly understanding your audience: their needs, their jobs, their struggles and their personalities are key to making any marketing communication effort successful.
It’s important to keep in mind that you can’t be all things, to all people, all the time. Identify your strengths so that you can hone your focus.
And of course, when you need help, be sure that you consult with someone who really “gets” your audience.
by tradespeopleinsights | Apr 22, 2015 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Marketing Trends, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
By Chris Ilcin, Account Superintendent at Sonnhalter
Photo Courtesy of Osborn
Do your employees know where your products are used? Do they know the applications the parts they make make possible? Are they aware of the history and critical nature of your company? There are many simple, cost-effective ways to increase productivity and morale by implementing a program that lets them know.
To land new business, you’re always told to “Tell Your Story” well. It’s just as important to tell it internally. Why?
• It makes employees feel like part of the plan – Let them see the big picture and where you as a company fit into it
• It helps them see the long view, not just their day-to-day part in it – There’s a plan, not just a daily task
• It builds internal networks – If Engineering tells their story to Customer Service, everyone sees people and faces, not silos
• It allows them to be brand ambassadors – If they know the story you want told, then that’s the story that gets re-told
So how do you reach them? That’s the easiest part—the same way you reach new customers:
• Host an Employee Open House – Let them show off to their kids, and see what goes on in other departments
• Giving a tour of your facility? Engage employees – Don’t treat them like an extension of the machine they’re working, but have them describe what they do, and the cost savings, quality assurance or other aspect of their work
• Start an internal newsletter – It’s a great place to either post external press releases, or develop case studies for outside use
• Cover the Walls – Advertising blown up as posters reinforce your brand internally and when guests tour your facility
• Let them hear & be heard – Have a quarterly or monthly meeting of non-managerial representatives from every department, and allow for an open exchange or ideas, complaints and stories
• Highlight your company’s history whenever possible – Old ads, press clippings or photos give a sense of pride and place
• Have a mission statement – And stress it internally. Print it on business cards, coffee cups in the vending machines; anywhere it will be seen regularly
You don’t need to be told that Manufacturing has gotten a bad rap. For years it’s been the butt of jokes, seen as a “dead end” and been declared all but extinct in this country by countless talking heads.
Well those people are wrong. And the house they left to get into the car they drove to the studio where they made their comments is testament to it. And it’s time your employees knew that too.
I once heard a really cool story about the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. It has a unique elevator that kind of side-steps its way up to the top of the arch. Well if you look into the arch, instead of out at the view, along the way you’ll see large welder-generators. They’ve been there since the Arch was built in the mid 60’s. Because of the way the arch was made, it was impossible to move them, so they just left them, placed another (which also got left behind) and kept building.
As a former employee of that welding manufacturer, I think that’s fascinating, and if I could ever get over my nagging fear of heights, it would be the best part of the trip up. To know that something that was made in the same building I worked in was instrumental in a project like that, it just boggles the mind. All the “ordinary” people, doing their “ordinary” job at factories all across the country added up to a modern marvel like that. Inspire that sense of awe in your employees, and they’ll help do the heavy lifting of establishing a brand.
by tradespeopleinsights | Apr 21, 2015 | Events/Trade Shows, Traditional Marketing
Source – Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Pietro Sutera
By Matt Sonnhalter, Vision Architect
I recently attended the ISH Show, a biennial show, which took place in Frankfurt, Germany in March. This was the first time I was able to attend this show and it sure did not disappoint. I guess the one word I would use to describe this show would be overwhelming!
Here are some of the amazing statistics from the show:
- Over 850,000 square feet of exhibit space – sprawled out over 11 buildings, most with multiple levels
- Almost 2,500 exhibitors – representing over 50 countries; and this number is not nearly as impressive as the individual sizes of their booths; 61% of these exhibitors came from outside of Germany
- Nearly 200,000 visitors – from plumbing and HVAC professional tradesman (accounting for around a third of the total), architects and engineers, to distributors, service providers, public authorities and more; 37% of these visitors came from outside Germany
Source – Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Pietro Sutera
This is by far the world’s leading show for the combination of water and energy topics. Everything one could possibly imagine for these industries was covered under the following five product groups:
- The Bathroom Experience – think of KBIS on steroids…Grohe and Hans Grohe even had their own buildings
- Building and Energy Technology – everything from boiler and burners, to heat pumps and components for heating equipment
- Efficient Systems and Renewable Energies – all the alternative energies were represented from solar, rain water, biomass and geothermal, plus there was even an entire floor dedicated to stoves, pellet burners and fireplaces
- Air-Conditioning, Cooling and Ventilation Technology – this section was comparable to the entire AHR Expo in U.S.
- World of Installation Technology – covering plumbing techniques, tools and systems for surface mounting, pipes, fittings and fasteners
Source – Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Jens Liebchen
The overall theme for ISH 2015 was “Comfort meets Technology” where the world’s leading companies covered future-oriented issues such as resource conservation and renewable energies. Here are some of the other broad themes covered during the show:
- ISH Water: Interior + Technology – Design and Function in Harmony. Topics covered included: the multi-generational bathroom; bathroom architecture in the light of demographic change; hygiene requirements for drinking water and efficient use of water as a resource
- ISH Energy: Energy Efficiency Plus. Topics covered included: energy efficiency in the heating market; hybrid systems; using a single room fireplace to provide comfortable warmth and holistic sustainability
- Future Buildings: Topics covered included technology, comfort and energy efficiency in harmony; integrating automation of interior spaces and energy efficiency and smart living – the networked home becomes an everyday reality
Amazingly, this show is really equivalent in size to 4 or 5 of our major U.S. professional tradesman shows. The show was five days in length and you needed almost all of it to walk the entire show. And the booth traffic was tremendous, and not just on the first day of the show like most U.S. trade shows, seeming to build each and every day.
If you’ve never been to the ISH Show and you are involved in any part of the Water and Energy fields, it’s definitely worth attending. Just make sure to book your travel accommodations early and wear comfortable walking shoes!
Want to keep reading about ISH? Check out these links:
Holy cow! ISH Show continues to amaze
6 plumbing trends from ISH
The show that is del-ISH
ISH Frankfurt 2015 Recap from Eric Aune
ISH 2015 — Day 1
ISH 2015 — Day 2
ISH 2015 — Day 3
