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4 Ways To Improve Supply Chain Efficiency

Last Updated: August 28, 2024

The supply chain can be considered the heart of a business. The raw materials used for production are obtained through the supply chain. Deliveries of finished products to customers and end-users also go through the supply chain. The supply chain is also that part of the business in which suppliers and providers transact with the internal teams and processes, and can thus have an impact on its efficiency and productivity. It’s the process that moves business capital from procurement, then production, sales, and then on to delivery and revenue generation.

There are quite a number of opportunities to further improve the efficiency of supply chain networks in various types of business operations. To pinpoint those areas of improvement, business owners should take a close look at their data reports to identify the gaps in their processes. In financial management, for instance, you can pay less in fees as a global business by using some of the alternative points of sale (POS) software applications and payment facilities currently offered in the market.

Here are four ways in which you can improve your company’s supply chain efficiency.

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1. Enhance Visibility And Visualization

One of the most important things to consider when improving your supply chain’s efficiency is to increase the visibility and visualization of your supply chain. Creating a visual representation of your supply chain logistics and processes will allow your teams to visualize exactly where your products are headed. This would also help them identify areas that might be running into some issues or in need of fine-tuning.

For example, a beverage company can use visualization software to track the status and location of raw materials which are headed for delivery to the production plant. In the production process itself, the team can monitor the plant’s output to see if regular quotas are being met.

When the products are finished, the company can use visualization to monitor the fulfillment of orders for later marketing purposes. They can also use visualization software to track the location of delivery trucks and vans and optimize delivery by coming up with better truck fleet dispatching and routing workflows. They can even find out if there would be ways to make use of the backload by instructing trucks to pick up raw materials or other supply items before returning to the warehouse. This will result in further improvement of the cost and time it takes to transport raw materials and deliver finished products.

2. Automate Your Workflow Tasks

Another way to improve your supply chain efficiency is to automate repetitive tasks and duplication processes. Automation also helps reduce the number of workers needed for the business to operate and work hours for orders processing.

For example, in a knowledge production firm, some of the work done by editors can be automated with the use of digital tools designed to detect grammar and spelling errors. With further advancements, AI-based applications could be used as substitutes for human editors handling more complex tasks. This would enable companies to reduce idle time, achieve greater efficiency, and save on operational expenses.

The use of automation would also help attain uniform standards in workflows and speed of processes. For example, the invoice, delivery labels, and shipment bar codes of an online store are automatically printed once a purchase is made through an eCommerce platform. An application linked to the platform then sends a message to the fulfillment center to schedule the package for pick-up by the forwarding team. The only task that would have to be handled manually is putting the order label on the package.

3. Automate Your Warehouse Operations

Warehouse handling and operations could greatly benefit from automation, as software and robotic equipment can be used to handle most inventory-related tasks. For instance, you can use either bar codes or radio frequency identification (RFID) to identify, mark, and locate a specific box or product. If a product has to be retrieved, robotic mobile pallets and retrievers could go to the shelf where the item is located. It would then reach for the item and place it in its cargo hold.

This kind of warehouse management technology is already being used in the warehouses owned by some of the largest eCommerce platforms. In fact, more advanced systems can even place an order for replacement stock as soon as the inventory stock is retrieved by robots.

4. Use Analytics To Continuously Improve

Another move that would immensely improve your supply chain efficiency would be applying analytics in studying your supply chain. Analytics will help you come up with an objective evaluation of how efficient your business operations are, making it easier to identify the gaps and bottlenecks in your supply chain and logistics processes.

In a production setting, management can use analytics to identify which specific tasks are taking up too much time. They can use analytics reports to evaluate whether there are roles and functions which are just duplicating the output of other teams. They can use it to assess whether some layers in the production process do not directly create added value and do not contribute to the bottom line. They can also use data on the idle time of their workers to assess whether there are too many people in one department and consider cost-cutting measures.

You’d also be able to come up with strategies on how to continuously improve based on the findings in your analytics reports. The advantage of analytics is that it uses reported data instead of forecasted or predicted data. It’s not based on the educated estimates of production analysts even though such estimates may be based on established engineering formulas. Going back to the beverage production plant example, analytics can measure the time it took for production to finish from the time it received the orders.

Conclusion

There are a few key opportunities for companies to further improve the efficiency of their supply chain. If implemented properly, these supply chain enhancements not only help speed up production and reduce operational expenses but also improve customer/client relationships by being able to consistently deliver high-quality products and services.

How to Mitigate Reputational Risk

Last Updated: August 28, 2024

As the name suggests, reputational risk is a major risk to the reputation of a company. When working in a community, you have to be immensely careful about your company’s reputation. Any harm to the reputation acts as a trust breach, and you lose customers. If you do not identify reputational risks and manage them per need, it may cause reputational damage. While you can try to recover the damaged reputation, it comes at a cost.

As it is said, “Precaution is better than cure.”

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How to Mitigate Reputational Risk

Let’s look at all the possible strategies that you may apply to mitigate reputational risk.

Quality Check

One of the major reputational risk causes is quality downfalls. When the quality of your product is not up to the mark according to the customer’s expectations, it may cause damage to your reputation. The consumer may ignore the mishap a few times. Yet, you might lose a loyal customer base if it is not regulated properly. It also reduces the possibility of engaging more customers with the brand when another company makes a better place in the business.

Happy Employees

Another important internal aspect of mitigating reputational risk is happy employees. A company is known for how it treats its employees. And with people standing up for the rights of employees more than ever before, it isn’t easy to keep your name high if you do not treat your employees right. An employee is the first-hand reviewer of the company. If you wish to maintain a reputation and decrease the risk, do not forget to keep your employees happy.

A happy employee is the best testimonial for your business!

Improve Customer Service

According to Nextiva, around 56% of people globally do not buy from a brand because of a previous poor customer service experience.

Good customer service can hide many of your company’s flaws as people want their complaints to be heard and validated. Similarly, bad customer service can seriously harm your business. The best way to avoid this is to recruit people who are the best for your company. If you are an apparel brand, it would not be the best idea to have customer service representatives who have only worked for software. Your representatives must not only have customer service experience but also of the particular niche you work in. One simple way is to offer a short training session before the employees begin their job to give them enough knowledge about your brand. It helps avoid blunders that may happen otherwise.

Data Protection

Reputational risk does not only arise from internal factors. But also external types of reputational risk like a breach of privacy can be harmful. Sometimes, the competitors try to steal your data by breaching your privacy. Leak data can result in serious damage to your business in terms of reputation and finances. Thus, it is important to keep your data protected. A few steps that you may take to prevent reputational damage include:

Allowing data access to only authorized and highly trusted people
Appointing cyber experts to encrypt your data and save it from being stolen
Using tools that can inform you of any suspicious activity to save your business from data breach harm
Lastly, you must have a team of professionals ready to fight such situations and recover data
While it is essential to protect your data and save it from theft, it is also important to have a Plan B if anything such happens.

Observe Social Media

In an era where over 3.5 billion people use social media globally, news spreads like wildfire.

Whether a brand makes a huge hit or a mistake, everyone talks about it in a space accessible to hundreds and thousands of people at once. Keenly observing social media is a critical part of mitigating reputational risk. If the first negative review is not managed properly, you might find many more floating on social media platforms in just a few days. A business must have a social media or community manager who makes sure that everything that goes on social media about your brand is “good” from happy customers. You must try to keep your brand name dissociated from words like “poor” and “bad.”

The Bottom Line

Reputational risks can be significantly harmful if not managed in time. You can prevent reputational damage by identifying reputational risks, keeping a keen eye on social media, improving customer service, and ensuring the quality of your products, among other measures. Now that you know how to mitigate reputational risk, utilize the given strategies to reduce the risk as much as possible and improve your brand’s reputation.

How to Identify Reputational Risks

Last Updated: August 28, 2024

Reputational risks may lead to reputational damage if you ignore the consequences of not considering reputational risks in time. However, to avoid or manage reputational risks, it is important to identify and measure them. Reputational risks and damage are specific to each business, yet you may find the primary ones associated with your brand through some means mentioned below. Read this article till the end to see how to identify reputational risks and measure them to prevent serious damage.

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Social Media

You may think that social media is one of the largest supporting reasons for reputational damage; how can it help us identify reputational risks?

Most customers take to social media to express their frustration and disappointment about a brand. Usually, it starts from a post on their profile where they express their resentment about a particular product or service. This first review can help save your business from long-term damage if you nip it in the bud. It is smart to have a community manager for the company who can keep an eye on what people think of the brand. You must try to keep words like “bad,” “poor,” and “uncooperative” away from your business on social media.

Study the Products or Service

Sometimes, you see multiple bad reviews about a company from multiple sources regarding the same product. As a business, you must find out the root cause of the issue and fix it as soon as possible. There may be a quality problem with the product mistakenly ignored by the Quality Control during manufacturing. You may also stop the production of that particular product for a while till the issue is resolved.

Consider Stakeholder Sentiments

Considering the stakeholder’s sentiments is essential for identifying and measuring reputational risks. Different stakeholders have a particular impact on your company’s reputation. For example, issues with the customers are considered a moderate risk. But when media is involved, it becomes a serious reputational risk.

Understanding the nature of the risk associated with the stakeholders and their perception of the company can help identify and minimize the risk.

Track Negative Events

Sometimes, as business owners, we understand the negative events of a potential reputational risk but let go of them. This may be fine sometimes if the benefit ratio is high. However, if the event can be seriously negative for your brand’s reputation, it is better to avoid it. Prevent further negative events by tracking and studying previous events that impact your business negatively.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if you do not identify and consider reputational risks?

If you do not identify the risks in time, you may have to face the consequences of reputational risks like business loss, tarnished image, failure to meet business objectives, loss in market share, etc.

What is the hidden cost of reputational damage?

The Hidden Cost of Reputation Risk by Oliver Wyman offers a new methodology to help identify and quantify reputational risks. It is based on four steps; defining the reputational risk, analyzing the available data, quantifying the reputational risk, and linking the risk to the reputational risk management framework.

What are the types of reputational risk?

Reputational risks are of various types depending on the cause and their impact. Common reputational risks include the vendor’s misconduct, low-quality products or services, failure to keep the stakeholders satisfied, and bad online reviews.

Conclusion

Identifying the reputational risks can save you from reputational damage caused by any likely factors. It helps you measure and find a better way to manage the risks. You can identify the reputational risks through social media, studying your products, understanding the stakeholders’ sentiments, and tracking negative events.

5 Ways to Create an Instagram Content Calendar

Last Updated: August 28, 2024

Instagram is among the world’s fastest-growing social platforms with over 800 million monthly active users worldwide.

If you’ve been wondering what an Instagram Content Calendar is, and how it can help your business as well as your personal life, then this blog post will be right up your alley. We’ll share with you 5 ways to create an Instagram content calendar that will help boost your instagram followers and engagement.

Whether you already have a following or are just trying to get started with Instagram, these ideas will give you some great ways of getting things done while still having fun along the way.

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Ways to create Instagram Calendar

Set Instagram goals

Set Instagram goals for the year, which means taking an inventory of what you want to accomplish with your content. In the first step, write down what your first three Instagram goals for the year are. Next, create a checklist of 10 things you can do to reach those goals and attach it to a wall or other place where you will see it each day. Then keep track of every day that goes by and check off each task completed from the list.

It’s difficult to come up with Instagram content on the fly. Before you upload anything, set a goal for what you want from your account and prepare the posts with a scheduled content calendar. You can gain Instagram followers this way!

Plan out days for posting: Mondays for portrait photography, Wednesdays for travel photography, etc. Pin down how many posts per week and when they will be going live. Know what you want before setting goals so that they can be met effectively.

Decide on Content Themes for Instagram

Content themes help you get the most out of your Instagram page by giving it purpose and structure. When you start a new Instagram account, it’s difficult to know what content will be required for your overall audience even if you already have an idea in mind as to what type of images are required.

You may have a theme that says “food” but then find out that people love taking screenshots and selfies of their favorite meals due to their sentimental value. By deciding on the content themes beforehand, that won’t happen because with every theme comes specific questions which will facilitate conversation and engagement among your Instagram followers, leading naturally into other themes or topics.

Get to know your Audience on Instagram

Get to know your audience on Instagram, whether your Instagram account is personal or business-related. This will help you stay consistent with your content, and thus get more engagement, likes, and followers.

Additionally, this will allow for some strategic planning around posting times to maximize engagement. Finally, if by knowing your audience you realize that a certain type of content works better for one market than another, this can help keep things more organized as well as profitable in the long run.

Clarify your Brand’s Visual Style on Instagram

Many brands struggle to find the perfect visual style for their aesthetic and can end up with a half-measure design that doesn’t match the personality of their brand.

You likely don’t want the same boring shots of employees or products on Instagram as you do on Twitter or Facebook. By optimizing your branding and making sure your Instagram feed has brand guidelines, you’ll have better control over what’s posted and promote an overall consistent corporate presence in all of your Instagram photos.

Schedule Instagram Content in Advance

Schedule Instagram Content in Advance because it saves your time, is easy to do, and the benefits are many. If you’re like most entrepreneurs or business owners with an Instagram account, you realize that it’s hard to come up with high-quality content regularly. The good news is that once you schedule your content regularly, it becomes much simpler to come up with ideas and images for Instagram.

This is especially true if you begin by scheduling out two months at a time. This will force you to think ahead of time and put in the effort required to write a meaningful photo essay. You’ll also be able to create unique images and get tons of engagement with your posts because by engaging with their Instagram followers, they’ll enjoy your content as well. This can lead to organic traffic as well as exposure for your business or blog.

Conclusion

In conclusion, having a plan in place will make it much easier to get creative with photos and content while also increasing your engagement. In this post, we have covered five steps that will help you create an Instagram content calendar. These steps will guide you through the process of coming up with ideas for posts and finding time for these posts in between work or school commitments as well as any other personal obligations such as spending time with family or friends.

5 Ways to Get Most Out of Instagram Creator Accounts

Last Updated: August 28, 2024

Instagram has a huge contribution to the latest content creation revolution. Thousands of young content creators have emerged and are producing amazing content. These influencers have a huge number of Instagram followers and have now become public figures. Instagram has launched creator accounts, which are a great way to grow on Instagram. These accounts have a lot of benefits that will help you take your content creation to the next level.

These accounts have tools that will help you manage content and will help you grow your community. It also provides you with advanced analytics and insights, which will make you understand your target audience better.

So, if you wish to have a better engagement with your audience and want to gain followers on Instagram, then here is the list of 5 Ways to Get the Most Out of Instagram Creator Accounts.

Analytics and Insights

The real advantage of switching to a creator account is that you can have the access to detailed analytics and advanced insights options. These tools are very efficient when it comes to providing details about pages as well as post information. They provide detailed audience demographics, which will help you study your followers. This will give you a better idea about their usage patterns and active usage hours. Insights give you a direct look into the type of content that the audience loves to consume.

Analytics also shows a count of people that follow and unfollow you on a daily basis. You can also manage your posts and archive the unwanted content to make your feed look better. Other than these tools there are other parameters that will indicate engagement rates, post reach, interaction levels, as well as post response.

Instagram Shopping

The creator account has an additional feature to sell products on Instagram. You can easily collaborate with any brand and launch a new product in partnership. Instagram shopping requires basic details like shipping address, product details, and a specified mode of payment.

Also, if you are posting a fashion influencer photo, you can simply tag the brand as well as their product. This will redirect traffic from your feed to the product buying option. Instagram accepts all modes of payments including MasterCard, PayPal, Visa, and other debit card options. This is a great way to increase your brand sales and convert your followers into customers.

Advanced Messaging

It is very important to respond to brand collaboration or partnership messages. Also, replying to a few followers helps you keep good relations with your community. It also increases audience interaction levels. Creator accounts have the option to prioritize messages and reply to important messages faster. Now you can select specific chats to be in your primary chat box and the rest will be displayed in the general chat-box section. This has made sorting messages simple and you can avoid spam or fake user chats.

Contact Visibility

Creators have the choice to showcase their contact details on their page or to hide them. This option is very helpful if you do not wish to share your contact information with spam users. If you already have collaborated with many brands and wish to stop receiving sponsorship messages, you can turn off this option. So, if you wish to avoid spam calls and messages from Instagram followers, then this is a great option to use.

Content Category

It is necessary for any content creator to know his category of work. This makes the content creation process simpler and helps a person categorize his account. There are many categories such as fashion, food, blog, fitness, and many more.

A specified creator account is a great way to show your audience that you are focused. It will help you by getting your account showcased in the top search engine results. This way your account will look more professional and people are more likely to approach you for work collaborations. By using this simple tip, you will be able to achieve higher engagement rates and gain more Instagram followers.

Conclusion

This was the list of 5 Ways to Get the Most Out of Instagram Creator Accounts. These tips will help you gain more Instagram followers and will make you a successful content creator. We hope this list was helpful for you. Save it for future reference. Also, make sure you visit our space for similar articles on different interesting topics.

6 Game changing Instagram Trends you should follow

Last Updated: August 28, 2024

The popularity of Instagram has been rocketing upwards and it’s looking all set to become the most popular social network in the world soon. Facebook is the only platform that is currently ahead of Instagram in the number of users. Instagram is no longer just a social media platform for teenagers to post cool selfies. It has also become a marketing tool for organizations, businesses, influencers, and celebrities. Whether you’re a business or an individual trying to build your following, it’s important to have an understanding of the giant world of Instagram. Here are some Instagram trends that are setting the social media world on fire.

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Instagram Trends to Follow

1. Instagram Reels

Instagram reels are an amazing way to the most out of your existing audience while also growing your list of followers. The people get off Instagram knew what they were doing with the introduction of Reels. They capitalized on the success of TikTok and presented their own brand of short-form videos in the form of Instagram Reels.

The popularity and usage of reels keep rising with every passing day which you can leverage for your benefit. Like TikTok, the videos you upload through reels are for the entire world to see. With the right content and the right hashtags, you can reach thousands of people you never have before. There is no surprise that influencers, celebrities, and even global brands are actively publishing reels today.

2. Memes

The modern generation’s humor can be defined by just one word and that is “memes”. We might have moved away from the rage comics and troll faces of the 2010s but the idea still remains here. Memes are more mainstream than ever today. It has become extremely common to see an international company sharing funny and relatable memes, unlike back in the day. From promoting a new product to simply interacting with their followers, memes are becoming the way to go on Instagram.

3. Paid Promotions

Ever since Instagram’s influence and importance have gone up, and so has the tendency of an average user to spend money on paid promotions. From boosting posts to full-blown advertisement campaigns, the investment in Instagram marketing keeps increasing. Another trend seen recently is the increase in the number of users who buy Instagram followers.

The reason behind this might be the websites that sell followers turning mainstream. For a long time, there was a stigma around buying followers as people considered it to be illegal, despite that not being the case. There are lots of websites from where you can buy Instagram followers safely and securely.

4. Stories & Stickers

Instagram Stories have been a thing for a long while now and the hype is not dying out anytime soon. Stories remain among the favorite tools of Instagram users who are regularly active on the platform. Instagram keeps making them better with more and more additions of stickers that are extremely helpful in terms of boosting engagement and more importantly, driving traffic out.

Instagram’s decision to make posting external links available for everyone has been a welcome addition as well. Earlier, the option to include an external link was only available for those with at least 10K followers but not anymore.

5. More Videos than ever

Having a consistent and coherent visual style is one of the most important aspects of successful Instagram marketing. With that being said, video content continues to be the most engaging type on Instagram. Photos are still doing well, but videos are even better.

6. Challenges and Hashtags

Taking part in a trending challenge has become the favorite pastime of every Instagram influencer. Be it a dance step or some specific instructions, the people of Instagram are always quick to jump the ship. These challenges are often paired with specific hashtags which makes it easy for the target audience to find them. If you want some quick results, keeping an eye on such challenges and hashtags is a good solution.

Conclusion

Many influencers and content creators have gained fame by simply following the trends and there is nothing wrong with it. Brands and celebrities to are always on the lookout for topics and trends that bring engagement and attention.

Instagram trends have been changing with the seasons, and the platform itself seems to be growing only more popular. Keeping up with these changes makes you feel a little better equipped to deal with whatever Instagram throws at you. These were 6 such trends that are relevant today and can make a big difference in your Instagram journey.

Am I a Good Enough Writer?

Whether or not you are a good enough writer to get paid for your words is the most “common question” newbie freelance writers ask. The answer is said to lie in improvement. In other words, as long as you are willing to learn and improve your craft, there’s no reason why you can’t expect to be a professional.

Even Hemingway (a one-time freelance reporter) wasn’t born a great writer, and neither were you. You just have to be willing to learn.

What Kinds of Jobs Should I go After?

You should plan on writing whatever you like. That said, if you’re new to the writing game, you might want to stick to topics you’re knowledgeable about. If you were a construction project manager in a previous career, you might want to write about building and design topics for a while.

Sooner than later, you will want to learn how to write about new topics. Eventually, you should possess the talent to write about anything, no matter how dull. The trick is making a mundane object, such as a teabag, appear interesting with your words.

How Often Will I Be Writing?

If you plan on being a serious writer in retirement, you can expect to write every day. Full stop. Writing is a craft that must be learned. You only get better with practice. Even if you haven’t been handed an assignment, you should be developing your own story ideas.

The best idea is to get up in the morning, sit down at your laptop with a cup of coffee, and “put in the word count.”

How do I get Noticed?

When you’re a newbie, you will all too often feel that nobody is giving your work a chance, much less paying attention to it. But there are online tools out there to help you gain much-needed visibility.

For instance, you can start a WordPress blog or a Medium account and write free content on a daily basis. After a time, your work will be good enough that you will gain a decent-sized following. You can share your content via social media links like Facebook and Twitter.

But keep in mind, you’re in this to make money. That means writing for free will eventually become just one of the tools in your freelance writer’s toolbox for marketing yourself and your writing.

Set up a profile and take advantage of online platforms like LinkedIn to show off your talents and land paying gigs. If you’re planning on writing fiction, you can take advantage of Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing Platform. You can even make a lot of money writing erotica if you so choose. Which begs the question.

How Much Money Will I Make?

In a word, it depends. A few factors come into play such as how much experience you have, the kind of writing you are doing, plus the amount of time (and energy) you’re willing to put into it.

Experts say that when you’re just starting out, you will want to consider freelance writing as a way to supplement your retirement account. However, as you progress and get more experience under your belt, you will begin to see lucrative paydays. This is especially true if you expand your talents to writing journalism, nonfiction, and fiction.

You might make small amounts with each publication, but by the end of the month, those small amounts add up to a very nice payday. What’s more, you can write from any destination in the world, be it a sandy beach in Tulum, or at a coffeehouse in Istanbul.

In-House vs Marketing Agencies: Which is better for your Business?

Last Updated: August 28, 2024

Choosing between an in-house team and marketing agencies is a critical decision to make for any business owner. Since branding and marketing play crucial roles in growing your business, you need to choose wisely. This is especially true if you’re just getting started in the industry.

The right decision may depend on your company’s ultimate goals. For example, if you want to improve your return on investment (ROI), you need the right marketing team to solve this problem. Should you establish an in-house marketing team or hire an agency? Read on:

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What to know about having an In-House Team

An in-house team comprises individuals who work exclusively for your business. While your business can hire one person to carry out all marketing duties, it’s more effective if you build a team. This way, you’ll have someone responsible for content writing, social media marketing, email marketing, and search engine optimization (SEO).

If you prefer to opt for an in-house team instead of a marketing agency, here are the pros and cons you should know:

You’ll have Control over Everything

You’ll have full control over your marketing team and how they implement and build your marketing plan by having in-house marketing. If you have clear ideas of how you want to use digital marketing to grow your business, creating an in-house team to deliver can be the best solution.

If you’re unsure where to start with your marketing, hiring a marketing agency can make a difference. With its expertise and experience, its marketing experts can make a killer marketing plan suited for your business.

Your In-House Team knows your Company’s Vision and Experts in your Brand

Your in-house team will breathe, eat, and live your company’s vision. They’ll be your brand experts, which means there’s no learning curve in speaking on behalf of your company on press or social media sites.

Your in-house team members are also aware of your business vision and what they should do to execute it. In short, your communication will stay consistent, and no major adjustments in tone will be made, which is a plus when growing your business.

It takes Time to Build an In-House Team

It’s not easy to build your own in-house team. Aside from finding the best potential candidates for your marketing team, you have to prepare the necessary tools of the trade so your employees can do their duties well. It means you need to spend a lot of time onboarding employees and shop around for design or data analytics tools for your marketing needs.

What to know about Marketing Agencies

Compared to an in-house team, working with marketing agencies is like outsourcing your marketing needs. In short, instead of performing the work in-house, you work with an agency that typically comprises many professionals who specialize in various aspects of marketing to deal with such duties. Click here for marketing strategies with Lisnic and learn about the top marketing agencies.

Marketing agencies work to be an extension of any company, learning brand identity, business goals, purpose statements, and core values. If you don’t know whether or not a marketing agency is for your business, here are its pros and cons:

Get access to Experienced Professionals

While an in-house team is hired with a particular experience level, most business owners hope that their team members develop and grow with the company and attain new skills to make them well-rounded professionals. On the other hand, marketing agency professionals are already seasoned experts. Several agencies have professionals who specialize in a certain area of marketing.

The high level of quality and experience of marketing agencies are a major benefit for many businesses. No one will have to develop or grow into a role because such professionals have the expertise and knowledge to make things work. In a specific sense, you don’t have to worry about your marketing, allowing you and your employees to focus on other business tasks.

Perfect for Campaign-Specific Marketing

Working with a marketing agency can be advantageous for offloading various marketing tasks. It’s also beneficial when launching any kind of marketing campaign. A marketing agency knows what’s needed to launch and implement successful campaigns by having skilled experts on hand.

You’ll have Less Control of your Content

Once you decide to work with a marketing agency, you might not have the right to access your creative content. Since marketing agencies will handle your projects from start to finish, it may cut down on your input and connection to the end product. So, if you want to have full control of your marketing strategies, you might want to build a marketing team for your company.

Marketing Agencies take Time to be Familiar with your Brand

Many marketing agencies aren’t aware of your brand, target audience, and industry. Therefore, it might take longer for them to be familiar with your business goals and brand. This may result in more meetings to get more information regarding your brand. Before you decide to hire a marketing agency, you have to ensure that they’re prepared to fully understand your brand.

Which is right for your Business?

There’s no accurate answer to this question as it depends on how much you’re willing to spare for your marketing. As a business owner, you need to think of what you want to achieve with your marketing and how far you’re willing to go.

If you’re a small business owner, it’s wise to establish an in-house team before hiring a marketing agency. It’ll help you be open to more marketing ideas, benefiting your business growth. However, if you’re running a big company, it may come in handy to hire a marketing agency to help your in-house marketing team and get advanced marketing solutions.

Conclusion

Both in-house and marketing agencies have pros and cons. Depending on your marketing spend and needs, make sure to choose the one that will help your business grow and reach your goals in no time. If possible, before you decide, analyze your budget and business needs, and monitor the performance of your in-house team or a marketing agency. This way, you’ll know which is worth it for your investment allocation.

Causes of Reputational Risk

Last Updated: August 28, 2024

Reputational risks are among the most crucial types of risks for a business. This is why risk management has considerable importance in businesses. They can cause significant harm to your company if not measured and managed. However, the good part is that you can mitigate the risks by making the right business choices. The causes also contribute to the identification based on the types of reputational risks to measure and prevent them.

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What are the Causes of Reputational Risk?

The reputational risk may arise from multiple causes, primary of which are social media and poor customer service. Let’s have a look at all of them briefly.

Social Media Presence

The foremost reputational risk arises from the social media presence of the customers. Social media provides a free space for people to share their experiences and sentiments. Many times, you may not realize, that a small mistake can lead to serious consequences. Nowadays, people take to social media to address concerns and reservations about any business; it is worse when your customer service is bad.

When the customers do not get satisfaction from the brand, they vent out on social media for someone to facilitate them. It not only associates negativity with your name but also diminishes the trust of the existing customer base.

Poor Customer Service

In an era when the customer is called the God of the business, if you do not focus on your customer service, you’re not doing it right. Customer service representatives are the face of a business and they must be equipped with the knowledge and skills to manage the customer’s issues gracefully. Surveys show that more than half of customers who face an issue do not do business with the brand again when their problems are not resolved.

Imagine losing half of the customer base and the reputation built over years; serious damage it is!

Insufficient Cyber Security

Data breaches are a major cause of reputational risk that is not so common, yet may create huge problems for you. A company strives to work better according to the data it collects from its customers through software and surveys. This data along with the personal credentials of the business can be of massive harm if lost. Many times you may experience a data breach that could be a risk to the company. However, it is essential to have a full-proof cyber security plan to mitigate reputational risks.

Leadership Issues

Another reputation risk cause that does not appear on the surface but causes deep-rooted problems are leadership problems within the company. Sometimes businesses fail to choose leaders that add value to their name, leading to reputational damage.

Studies show that the CEO’s reputation accounts for 45% of the market value of the business.

So, if you want to save your business from damage to market value and reputation, it is important to choose people who add value. Avoid people in the top managerial positions with controversial histories.

Unclear Business Objectives

The business plan of a company contributes majorly to its success and reputation in the market. When everyone in the company works together to achieve business goals, you are less likely to suffer from reputational risks. However, if your business objectives are unclear and the employees do not have a mutual goal to work towards, it may cause reputational harm. Unclear Business risks do not offer a proper direction to the people, adding to reputational risk.

Neglecting Employees

People who work with you in taking your business to the top expect you to take care of them as well. Many companies globally give immense importance to their employees by remembering and celebrating their professional and personal achievements. On the other hand, some corporations want to get the best out of their employees without giving anything apart from the minimum salary.

Remember that you get what you give. If you are not interested in keeping your employees happy, it will cause a hike in turnover and damage your reputation. Happy employees make a huge difference from unsatisfied ones.

Not Meeting Expectations

All of the above-mentioned causes collectively attribute to the inability to meet the customer’s and stakeholder’s expectations. Whether your products are low quality, the cybersecurity is insufficient or your employees are neglected, it all exhibits that you are meeting expectations. If you are not able to meet the expectations of people associated with your business in one way or the other, it will cause you to lose your reputation in the market.

The Bottom Line

Reputational risk can result in major reputational damage and financial loss if you do not realize the importance to mitigate it in time. You must identify risks and understand the causes of reputational risk and make your best effort to reduce the risk.

Neglecting the causes can exhibit consequences of not considering reputational risks in the long term. While you may think that managing these risks will take time and money, it is a must-knowing that covering reputational damages costs between $8,000 and $200,000. So, the time and effort to monitor and restrict the causes is essential to keep your business going high.

Types of Reputational Risk

Last Updated: August 28, 2024

Having a business is always associated with risk, including financial, strategic, compliance, and reputational risk. Reputational risk is different from other business risks like strategic risk as it is quite unpredictable.

With the increased social media usage to digitally market your business, the reputational risks have also increased. Social media platforms are accessible to everyone and you may have to face criticism. The impact is huge, and you may face reputational damage. Besides social media, there are plenty of other types of reputational risks that may cause harm to your company if not managed properly.

Table of Contents

7 Types of Reputational Risk

According to Reputation Management, 25% of a company’s market value is directly attributable to its reputation.

Thus, it is highly important to consider all risks and study reputational risks properly. Here are the different types of reputational risks based on their causes and influence.

Increasing Competition

Contrary to the unpredictability of reputational risk, any foreseeing businessman understands that increasing competition is an indirect risk to the business. As more similar options are available, some may have better products and services than yours. When a customer buys a better product from another brand, your reputation subsides from their memory. They tend to buy more from your competitor, improving their reputation. While it may not directly harm your reputation, increasing competition means that you need to improve your services for the best.

Company Negligence

Company negligence reputational risks are related to increasing competition. Your reputation is at high risk if your employees do not understand the need for work to stay in the market. Whether the competition is high or not, your customers can always find a substitute. If your company does not deliver high-quality products or services as promised, the clientele does not hesitate to move to another brand. Some of the major reputational risks associated with company negligence include:

Low-quality products or inadequate service
Data breaches that enable others to look into your confidential information cause damage
Below-par customer service that does not validate the customer’s concerns

Improper Working Conditions

Reputational risks are attributed not only to the customers’ words but also to the employee. You may be surprised to know that a negative word from an employee about the company causes more harm than a bad review from the customer. So, if you want to avoid reputational damage, it is a must to take care of your employees and their needs. Internal scandals are also bad publicity that a company must try to avoid. The short-lived limelight can lead to a dark, long-term pothole that you may not be able to come out of.

Non-Compliance with Local/ International Regulations

Non-compliance to regulations is also a critical reputational risk that can harm your business seriously. If you do not comply with the local or international rules and regulations regarding your business, you can get into big trouble. Like internal scandals, this kind of reputational damage is also challenging to reverse. The regulatory bodies typically issue you notice. If not taken care of, the news can go online to stop people from buying your product or service.

Stakeholder’s Actions

A business’s reputation is also related to the stakeholders. Sometimes all stakeholders are not on one page, and one of them might not like any of your policies. And if they take it to the media and talk about the policies they do not agree with, it can backfire badly. While this is quite unlikely to happen, it is not impossible. It’s better to make sure all your stakeholders are happy with your decisions to avoid reputational damage.

Supplier’s Misconduct

When customers trust your product, they believe that you inquire properly about your suppliers and choose the best one. However, if they encounter any misconduct regarding the supplier, they doubt your previous products as well. One way to avoid this kind of damage is to keep up to date on the quality of your vendor’s material. A supplier’s misconduct or bad reputation can cause damage to your company’s reputation as well.

Negative Reviews

Negative reviews are the most common and most influential type of reputational risk. Typically, consumers present their concerns through social media posts, but newspapers or digital publishing agencies may also cover more serious matters. Digital media platforms have provided the customers with a safe space to voice their concerns about a brand.

FAQs

What is reputational risk in banks?

Reputational risk in banks is primarily related to the risk of not being able to meet the expectations of the stakeholders due to any action, event, or behavior. It may occur by the bank as an institution, the employees, or other associated entities.

What is reputational damage?

Reputational damage occurs when you do not manage the possible reputational risk in time. Reputational damage can lead to long-term issues or eventually losing a loyal customer base.

What is the cost of reputational damage?

The cost of reputational damage mainly depends on the extent of the damage. Yet, according to Kaspersky, the average cost of brand damage by one incident came around $8,000 for medium-sized businesses and up to $200,000 for large enterprises.

What are the types of risk operational reputational?

Operational risks are system risks, people risks, process risks, external event risks, and compliance risks. Conversely, reputational risks are related to acts by the company, employees, stakeholders, or customers that affect the business’s reputation.

What are the types of pure risk?

Pure risks are those you cannot control and may result in loss. Typically, pure risks are attributed to natural disasters and unforeseen incidents. They are of three types; personal, liability, and property.

The Bottom Line

Reputational risks are significant for a business, especially when you are trying to make a name in the market. If you do not consider the reputational risks, your competitors may use them against you. Common types of reputational risk include negative reviews on social media and publications, misconduct by the vendor, and public disagreement by the stakeholders. You can save your company from reputational damage by considering these types of reputational risks. Do not forget to mitigate and manage them adequately.