by Summer Worsley

Since the neologism ‘Brexit’ was first coined in 2012, it has gained a lot of cultural currency rapidly. So fast, in fact, that in 2016, when Brexit was added to the dictionary, the OED called its rise to prominence “impressive”.

Brexit is not confined to European and UK newspapers. Use of the term has been recorded in foreign-language news publications across the world. It seems the lexeme is on the tip of everyone’s tongues.

With that in mind, in this post we’ll take a look at some of the linguistic aspects of Brexit.

“Brexit means Brexit” - Theresa May
Despite UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s somewhat ambiguous statement that “Brexit means Brexit”, the word does have a deeper meaning.

Economists first started using the term to denote a British exit from the European Union.

Britain or British + Exit from the EU = Brexit

They modelled the portmanteau after 2010’s Grexit:

Greece or Greek + Exit from the Eurozone monetary unit = Grexit

The OED’s definition of Brexit is a little fuller than the above. For the lexicographers, Brexit means:

“The (proposed) withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, and the political process associated with it.”

The extended definition continues:

“Sometimes used specifically with reference to the referendum held in the UK on 23rd June 2016, in which a majority of voters favoured withdrawal from the EU.”

The OED also notes that the more accurate ‘UKexit’ didn’t hold much sway with language users. Nor did ‘Brixit’.

Word Class
Although Brexit started life as a noun, it is increasingly being used as a verb, as the OED’s extended definition of Brexit as a process would suggest. (Note though, at the moment the OED defines it solely as a proper noun).

Let’s have a look at how it functions in each word class.

Noun - “The report warned that Brexit would reduce the EU's potential GDP”

Verb - “The UK will Brexit in 2020”

Third-person simple present - Brexits
Present participle - Brexiting
Past and simple past participle - Brexited

Adjective - “The Brexit referendum”

There aren’t a lot of instances of adverbial use; can something be carried out Brexitly? But given how active the Brexit lexeme is, this may change. Perhaps it will come to mean doing something begrudgingly, or with “Bregret”!

Productivity: The Brexicon (Brexit + Lexicon)
Brexit as a lexeme has spurned a lot of other new words, many of these are used frequently, including:

Bremain - Britain + Remain, a antonym of Brexit. And by extension, Bremainer.
Brexiter - A Brexit supporter. Linguist Graeme Davis also makes a distinction between Brexiter and Breixteer.
Bregret (or Regrexit) - Regret over the leave vote.

Lesser items in the Brexicon include:

Brexchosis - Double portmanteau coined by Boris Johnson.
Brexiety - A state of anxiety over Brexit.
Brespoke - A bespoke exit deal.
Brexodus - The exodus or departure of both EU and UK citizens from the UK following the vote.
Brexthrough - A breakthrough in exit talks.

UK newspaper The Independent has put forward a more complete, and oftentimes hilarious, list here.

Who’s In and Who’s Out
Brexit has been polarising, to say the least with Brexiters and remainers taking a firm stance on either side of the issue.

The Brexit vote, and the accompanying clamour of voices focuses attention on language and the discursive construction of patriotism, that is how we linguistically construct our allegiance to a given community. In this case, in or out.

The leave campaign's simple slogan “take back control” might be jingoistic and misleading (political slogans often are) but it proved to be effective. In contrast, the remain campaign never really coined a powerful slogan, “Britain is stronger, safer and better off in Europe” just didn’t have the teeth, or the spin possibilities, that camp leave’s slogan had.

Vote leave relied on emotion, the use of “control” here implied that the UK was/is out of control as part of the EU. Associations of foreign bureaucrats as puppeteers “controlling” the UK rose among the public. As too did anti-immigration sentiment.

Enough has been said about the rise of populist politics and rhetoric recently that we won’t add to the discussion here except to note that language is a powerful tool indeed when wielded for a specific means.

Weighing In
“Hello, I am from Britain, you know, the one that got tricked by a bus” - Aher Shah

Post-vote, people on both sides of the debate signal their preferences through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. These micro-blogging platforms provide an outlet for people to express their community, be it in, out, or apathetic.

Jokes have been aplenty. As too have the memes. An oft-seen signifier on the remain side is the EU’s circle of stars on a blue background. Some remainers favour a Union Jack as cover images or profile pictures.

Outside the digital realm, people have been spotted wearing their preference with t-shirts emblazoned with text such as “All I want for Christmas is EU” and “Brexit people scare me”.

Linguists and sociolinguists alike have been weighing in too with what seems like a whole field of study springing up around the issue. If you’re interested, this lecture from Veronika Koller at Lancaster University on Brexit discourse is a good start.

We’re sure the academic debate is going to continue for a while yet. After all, Brexit is the kind of event that gives discourse analysts a lot of work to do!

Have you noticed any interesting uses of language to do with Brexit? If so, let us know in the comments below.

by Samuel Gitukui

In the modern business era of high competition, it’s a no-brainer that customer experience is one of the main ways to develop loyal customers. In fact, many companies go above and beyond with new technologies and processes to make sure that the customers have a good service.

But is it working and can businesses link their customer experience strategies to increased revenue?

The short and simple answer is that while there is indeed some proof, the bigger picture is that there is really no predetermined method of finding that out.

But what does this mean?

Well, most businesses are now aware that good customer experience is important, but this is solely based on thinking. This means businesses are spending millions on customer experience methods and strategies hoping that they will turn their customers into loyal buyers.

In all this, something seems to be left out and most entrepreneurs seem to not pay much attention to it—employee experience. To really succeed in customer experience, the employees need to love their jobs. Simply put, employee experience equals customer experience.

Let’s discover more.

Your Business is its employees

People often talk about things like the company policy and the company culture. However, they seem to forget that the business is really made up of people. It is the employees that perform all the tasks from sales to manufacturing to serving customers.

This is why employee experience is so important. Employers should realize that people are not just legal entities who are there to simply complete a task.

The closest people to your customers are the employees

Have no doubt about it. It is your employees that are dealing with your customers on a daily basis. They hear their complaints and are the first to offer solutions to any questions.

Your employees are also the best source of information about customer experience and will help pass this information to top management.

Employee experience equals customer experience

Many businesses spend a lot of their money on making sure the employees provide the best experience to customers. Not only that, but part of that investment will go towards ensuring that the employees themselves don’t do anything to mess up customer experience.

Employees will give customers what they themselves have and little more. If their experience is lousy, they will simply lack the motivation to provide a better experience to the customer.

Your employees will help build your brand

Let’s dissect this a bit, shall we? The business brand is a promise to deliver a certain quality of service or products to your customers. But how do you deliver the best service when the people delivering that service, the employees are dissatisfied with their jobs?

Your employees deliver your brand. So, make sure that they are in the best position to.

We are not saying that you should completely ignore your customer experience processes. What we are saying is that to be most efficient at it, employee experience should be a priority.

by Samuel Gitukui

As an entrepreneur, you want your business to grow and naturally, getting more salespeople should translate to getting more clients, right?

As much as this is hard to argue with, you also want to ensure that your sales team is highly capable, highly efficient and are all up to date with the most effective strategies. You can’t just have each member of your sales team approaching the market differently.

A well-defined strategy for acquiring and retaining clients is essential.

Let’s take a look at a few steps to build an effective and efficient sales team from scratch.

1.    Have the right product for the target market

It doesn’t matter how talented your sales team is. If your product doesn’t satisfy a need or a want, then customers are simply not going to be interested.

If you are a startup, a safe way to approach the market is to gather a small group of customers that you can contact easily to get feedback and create a product according to their interest.

Once you are confident that the final product is satisfying the customers you can then scale up and expand your sales team.

Imagine having many people selling a product that customers are not overly excited about. Eventually, the business revenue will decline.

2.    Get a strategy that can be easily scaled up

In business, things are not as black and white as they may sometimes appear. Take cold calling, for example, one of the reasons it is not a favorite of many is because research shows that it has around a 1% success rate. Social marketing, on the other hand, has a good 15% success rate.

However, the question now becomes, which of the two strategies is easier to scale up? Without a doubt, it is far easier to use different technologies to scale up cold calling. This is not easily done with social marketing.

Entrepreneurs with such knowledge should be quick to educate their sales team. The salespeople will then know how to approach the market every time they go out fishing for clients.

3.    Get the right Salespeople

As an entrepreneur looking to increase the size of their sales team, you might be tempted to hire anyone with previous experience in the sales and marketing field. This approach is too generic.

Instead what you should aim to do is to get someone who has the skills that are needed in your particular line of business. Think of it this way, if your business requires rapid-fire transaction sales, the salesperson needed will be different from one needed in a complex organization where business relationships are needed.

4.    Improve the post-sale experience

A lot of emphasis is placed on making sales that people forget that the post-sale experience is equally as important. How you handle a buyer will remain stuck in their memories for a good long time. If the experience is good, then they are very likely to come back. And if it was less than ideal, then you will not remain in their favor for long.

Once you have set the above steps in place, then you can go ahead and scale up your sales team and watch your business grow.

by Samuel Gitukui

A question that is very often in the minds of sales executives is which of the two between email and phone calls offers the ultimate outreach medium.

Salespeople are often on the go and find it convenient to reply to emails quickly through their mobile phones. Indeed, emails are a necessary and all-important tool during marketing. It is the most widely used form of communication and in fact, studies show that by the end of 2018, there should be roughly 3.8 billion email users.

But what about making phone calls?

This is the thing, they are absolutely crucial as well. You simply cannot depend on email alone and expect to efficiently reach out to your customers.

Which of the two methods to use will very often depend on your audience and how best to connect and communicate with them. let’s find out more!

The Phone Call

There are certain situations that simply call for the use of telephone conversations. This method allows you to humanly interact with your audience. You can get valuable feedback that you wouldn’t normally get with an email conversation such as judging the authenticity and commitment of your client.

It is also an excellent way to build trust. The best time to make a call to your prospective client is:

•    when you are looking for a quick answer
•    when you are trying to explain a complicated process
•    when the client prefers phone conversations
•    when you want to connect more and create a relationship and
•    when you need to deliver bad news

The Email
​
Sometimes you may have many clients and you can’t possibly make phone calls to all of them for every minor detail. Email is a good way to ask quick questions that are not urgent. Prospective clients may have a busy schedule and may not be in a position to pick a phone call. Email provides an excellent alternative.

The best times to use email includes:

•    when you are making a follow-up
•    you need a quick answer to a query
•    when there is a need for written proof or
•    when you need to communicate with many people.

How to choose the best outreach method

Now that we know that both of these communication methods are essential during marketing, the trick is to be able to analyze the situation and determine which of them to employ. This is how.

1.    What is the objective?

This is the first question you should ask yourself. Are you in the process of closing a huge deal? Then making a phone call is best as opposed to sending an email which may actually look rather lazy.

If on the other hand, you need a short response which is not very urgent, then an email will work just fine.

2.    What does the prospect prefer?

If you already know the prospect well and they have shown a timely response, then using email is a good way to reach out.

In case you have just only recently met the prospect and are trying to build that rapport and relationship then a phone call should suffice.

   Image via Know Your Meme

English, like all languages, is riddled with twists, turns, and unexpected idiosyncrasies. Many of which trip up native speakers and second-language speakers alike.
 
Prompted by a series of now-viral memes in which several women talk about how good it is to smell a man’s colon, we decided to delve into a few of the most common mistakes people make in English.


1. Malapropisms - The Specifically Pacific Ocean

A malapropism is when an intended word is misused, thereby giving the sentence an entirely different (and sometimes nonsensical) meaning. Often this is because the words that are mixed up have similar phonetic features.
 
Have you ever heard someone explain a predicament using the word “pacifically”?
 
“I pacifically wanted no cheese because of my lactose intolerance.”
 
The part that’s even more comical about this specific malapropism are the correction attempts. To pacifically do something means to do so in a tranquil, calm, collected manner. But it would seem that the Pacific ocean has robbed it of its meaning.
 
To summarise:
 
●       Pacifically isn’t a real word (Proper Noun)
●       Specific is a real word (-ly)
●       Pacific is a real word
●       pacifically is a real word.
 
2. Double Negatives

You’ve probably heard the phrase “Two wrongs don’t make a right” before. When applied to the English language this means that double negatives are a “no-no”. In writing at least.
 
Prior to the 16th century, double negation was actually a common element in English speech and writing. Just as it is in many languages. In fact, it is more common for a language to display negative concord than not. It wasn’t until the first prescriptionist grammarians began rallying against double negation that it was viewed as “poor” English.
 
Applying basic rules from logic to language, it was decided that two negatives make a positive. This is overly simplistic and language is too nuanced for statements such as this. Nevertheless, the rule stuck.
 
Today, many varieties of English, including AAVE and several UK varieties, make use of negative concord as standard practice; which should go a long way toward proving that it’s not actually such a bad thing.
 
But old habits die hard and the double negative is still viewed as poor style in written English.
 
❌I don’t want to do nothing today.
✔️I don’t want to do anything today.
 
❌We don’t have no more money
✔️We don’t have any more money.
 
3. Preposition Use

Prepositions are used to highlight the relationship between an object and subject. When speaking, however, we don’t realise that some words already have built-in prepositions. Here are some examples:
 
Approach (come near to)
❌ Don’t approach to that building
✔️ Don’t approach that building.
 
Attack (go and fight against)
❌ They launched an attack against the enemy
✔️ They attacked the enemy.
 
Leave (depart from)
❌I left from Germany last week.
✔️I left Germany last week.
 
Reached (to arrive)
❌ We reached at the doctor’s office early.
✔️ We reached the doctor’s office early.
 
4. Awkward Idioms

Idioms are used when we want to take a break from ordinary speech and spice up our routine. These cleverly constructed phrases can tell an entire story in one short breath. But when idioms and phrases are misused or said out-of-context it can prove to be a somewhat embarrassing situation.
 
Here are a few common examples:
 
 
❌To all intensive purposes
✔️To all intents and purposes
 
❌Butt naked
✔️Buck naked
 
❌Hunger pains
✔️Hunger pangs
 
❌Extract revenge
✔️Exact revenge
 
❌It peaked my interest
✔️It piqued my interest
 
❌Per say
✔️Per se

5. The Your vs You’re Tragedy

Poor “your” and “you’re” are so commonly mixed up and misused that an entire article could be devoted to the subject alone.
 
If you’ve spent any time on social media you have probably spotted this common mistake many times. You’ve probably also spotted the commenter who wants to correct the error and the subsequent “grammar nazi” jokes that arise.
 
Here’s how the your vs you’re thing works:
 
“Your” should be used to show possession.
“You’re” is always a contraction for “you are.”
 
❌You’re life is your life, live like there’s no tomorrow.
✔️Your life is your life, live like there’s no tomorrow.
 
6. That vs Who

Okay, humans aren’t objects so this one is easy to remember. The general rule of thumb is that “who” is for people and “that” is for objects.
 
❌There have been people that have passed this test many times
✔️There have been people who’ve passed this test many times.
 
That vs Which is a whole other beast and is to do with restrictive clauses. Generally speaking, British English is kinder to the writer or speaker who isn’t sure which word to use. For more info on that, check here.
 
7. Apostrophe Placement

Yes, apostrophes are aesthetically pleasing to the eye. But we can’t always just throw them at the end of a word and hope for the best. Many people make the mistake of using apostrophes in the place of a plural ending.

Apostrophe Dos and Don’ts 

●       Do use them to contract words such as do not, can not, should not, have not, etc.
●       Do use them to show possession or ownership
●       Don’t use them to pluralise a word.
●       Do remember that “it’s” always means “it is” and never marks the possessive.
 
❌The duck’s are swimming in the pond.
✔️The ducks are swimming in the pond.
 
❌It’s mechanism is complex.
✔️Its mechanism is complex.
 
8. The Infamous There/Their/They’re

Like its cousin the “Your vs You’re” tragedy, the misuse of there/their/they’re is abundant. This is perhaps unsurprisingly considering each sounds very similar.
 
Without getting too complicated, let’s break this one down:
 
“There” is to do with location or an event in time.
Look over there!
There is a sale at the mall tomorrow.
There’s my hat!
 
“They’re” is always a contraction for “they are”.
They’re going to the movies tonight.
They’re hilarious.
 
“Their” is used to show possession. It’s kind of like the modified version of “they”.
Their class schedule is very busy.
Their ice cream was delicious.

9. And We Can't Forget About Our Homophones To/Two/Too

Who would’ve thought that there would be a homophone for signifying numbers, prepositions, and excess at the same time? Clearly English did… To that end, let’s take a look at how to use these little words right.
 
To and too specifically are used interchangeably in today’s society. But the good news is that “two” is rarely misused, mostly because it has a ‘w’ in it and is a number. 
 
The rules are fairly simple for this:
 
“To” is used to make the infinitive verb form.
To swim, to run, to walk, to eat, to sing, to look, to watch.
 
“To” is also used to mean going “towards.”
I am going to the movies.
Want to go to the park?
To boldly go where no man has gone before**
 
“Two” (2) refers to the number itself.
Two cups of ice cream, please.
You need a number-two pencil for this exam.
 
“Too” mean "also" or represents an excess of something.
I like pizza too.
That is too much sugar!
 
And that’s enough grammar for one day! Did we miss anything? Any common mistakes that you see a lot? Let us know in the comments below.
 
 
**Don’t worry, we won’t go into the split infinitive!!
​

by Samuel Gitukui

Starting a business is never easy. As an entrepreneur, you need to be willing to go the extra mile. This means waking up earlier than usual, and sometimes working more hours.

Maintaining this lifestyle can often cause stress that is detrimental to one’s health.

That is why it’s important to maintain a healthy entrepreneurial lifestyle.

Let’s take a look at 5 ways to ensure your body and mind are always ready to deal with the rigors of the next business day.

1.      Exercise everyday

Working out every day will help to keep your mind revitalized and fresh. The resulting positive outlook on life is a major determining factor on successfully accomplishing your daily tasks.

Considering all the challenges that entrepreneurs face on a daily basis, any morale boost is welcome.

Most people who exercise in the morning find that they approach the day with zest and have an improved ability to solve problems.

2.      Eat healthy

Making small positive changes to your diet can bring a lot of benefits to your health.  Take soda for example. You can replace it with water and make huge improvements on your body’s overall health which can also help you lose weight by reducing your sugar intake.

Instead of buying processed foods, why not carry a healthy meal to the office which includes nutrient rich foods and have this in place of fries and burgers.

Being healthy means you are better able to deal with the challenges of the day and you can concentrate on moving your business forward.

3.      Take time off

There is no denying the fact that managing and running a business is stressful. To prevent you suffering from burnout, you need to take time away from the business to relax.

As much as you need to put in the time and effort as an entrepreneur, you should also know when it’s becoming too much for your body to handle.

Watch a movie, go to the golf course or engage that hobby that you like. Every once in a while, take a vacation. Some really great business ideas were thought of when on vacation.

4.      Maintain a schedule that works for you

An excellent way to keep everything on track is to maintain a schedule. When you have a plan of how your day will start and everything you need to do before it is over, you are more likely to finish what you need to get done.

Maintaining your schedule for the first few days is always the most difficult part but once you start to get used to it, everything gets easier. Think about setting an alarm at 5.00am every day. Getting out of bed might be difficult initially but soon your body gets accustomed to this and you will find that you naturally get up during this time.

5.      Managing the stress

Stress goes hand in hand with managing a business. And the more the business grows, the more the entrepreneur has to deal with. The good thing is that it is possible to manage your stress levels.

Stress if left unmanaged can have negative consequences to your business. Find a way that works for you and apply it when running your business.

by Samuel Gitukui

Ask any experienced entrepreneur and they will tell you that one of the best ways to get consistent customers is through referrals.

In fact, top performing sales people are aware of this fact and include it in their sales pitch. Surprisingly, some sales people are afraid to ask for referrals even after learning the benefits that they bring to the business.

Think about it for a second.

What do you have to lose if you asked for referral? I’ll, tell you—zero. On the other hand, not asking means failed opportunities, and missed customers.

Simply put, referrals are an excellent way to optimize your sales. So, cast away your fears and let’s find out 3 ways entrepreneurs can take advantage of referrals.

1.      Ask for introductions

The best and most effective way to get referrals is to avoid asking for referrals. Wait, what?

What we are saying here is that simply asking customers for referrals can come out as a bit ambiguous as they may not know exactly what you mean.

Instead ask your customers and prospective clients to introduce you to a few more people in their field. This is much clearer for them and will help them understand exactly what you want.

As long as you are maintaining a good conversation with them, your customers should be more than willing to connect you with other people they know.

2.      Ask for 1 a day

Take time every single day to ask for a new introduction from any of your customers, friends or family. there is a high chance that they know someone who would require your products or services.

The good thing is that this is a relatively simple thing to do and will not take too much time. In fact, 15 minutes a day is all you need to get a new referral.

Asking for one a day may not sound like much, but imagine how many you will have received by year’s end. Well, 250 referrals by the end of the year can translate to a full sales pipeline and decent revenue.

3.      Hold events

One of the single most effective way to network with big players in the same industry is to hold an event. Choose a good venue and ask your customers to connect you with some of the big performers in the business.

Here you will be using your client base to get your name recognized as another major upcoming player in the industry.
When you finally invite these high-end clients, ask them to bring along their networks. Ensure you offer value in the information you pass across. Entrepreneurs can boost their business image and make lasting connections with important industry shakers.

You stand to gain bigger clients that will propel the business to the next level of growth by ordering large quantities of your products.

Referrals are a great way to boost your sales, keeping the client pipeline full and maintaining regular business. So why not implement it today and reap the rewards!

by Samuel Gitukui

Research has it that sales reps make an average of 46 calls each day. If, however, they do not produce any substantial results, it may feel like a demoralizing waste of time.

To increase the odds of making conversions, the phone calls need to be made to qualified leads. But I’m afraid things don’t get any simpler.

What exactly is a qualified lead?

In fact, most companies lack a proper definition of this term. For those that do work with a definition, 53% of phone calls leads to a first discussion. Compare this to 34% for those that lack a definition and the significance of it becomes clear.

It all comes down to the nature of your business. A qualified lead is an individual who is already showing interest in the services or products of the company without even getting a phone call. These are guys who have put a product in their wishlist in case of an ecommerce store or have recently done a Google search.

Once the business identifies such leads, the next thing is to provide their contacts to the sales team. In this way, the sales reps avoid barking up the wrong tree.

This is how.

1.      Use geotargeting
Geotargeting allows businesses to sift through many people and connect with only the ones that show genuine interest in the products or services of the company.

Think of it this way. Assume you were offering dental services in your city. Instead of focusing on the entire city, you could narrow down your leads to individuals that are just 30 or 45 minutes away from your clinic.

Targeting people that are more interested in your products mainly due to the area they live in is another way that geotargeting can assist businesses create qualified leads.

2.      Send personalized messages

With the advancements in communication, businesses have no excuse to sending generic messages to leads. There is simply enough information out there to research on a lead and send a more personalized message.

In fact, personalized messages have been shown to increase conversion rates by 10%.

3.      Use simple language

Many sales people might think that using complicated language makes them look more professional and better informed, but their efforts amount to little if the target customers don’t understand half the words that are being spoken.

Customers should understand the worlds easily to be able to see the value that the service or product you are selling adds to their lives. Otherwise, everything may sound so complicated that the lead avoids any communication with the company.

What’s more, the leads that remain are likely to be unreliable.

4.      Add gated content to your website

The information on your business website should be valuable. Once clients see this, they will be more willing to answer a few questions and offer their email address for more information about why your products and services will add value to their lives.

Sales reps can then use the information to contact a customer. The trick here is striking the right balance between valuable free information and gated content.

Ultimately by following the steps above, cold calling will result in better conversions and improve the businesses bottom line. 

by Sarah O.

How do you view your business?  Are you looking through the binoculars of society?  Are you viewing with the eyes of scrutiny, looking ONLY at the monetary figures that your business may be acquiring?  The society we live in today is ever fixed primarily on the financial aspects of a business and it seems that, this is how businesses are unfortunately measured.  You may have noted yourself that, you might just be viewing your business in the same light.  Well what can be done about it?

According to adequate research, there are many ways to measure the success of your business.  Have a look at some ideas:

1.  Your Network Flow

If you manage your business online, the amount of traffic you receive from visitors may tell you just how well you are doing…or not.  As this platform serves as a means of communication between you and your customers – this could be a way of measuring your success and to see just how well you are doing, if at all.

2.  Feedback

If you are providing specific services to people and you have a system whereby you have allowed your customers to give their thoughts and comments on your business and its services, you can use this feedback to help you gauge how well you are doing as a business.  Granted, it may not be to the fullest degree that you will gain a full coverage of the public that make use of your site, but it will provide you with a guesstimate of what you are already doing and how you can better your performance.

Since you will receive both negative and positive reviews, make sure you take note of all comments and adapt it to see how it can benefit your business.  It becomes a great measuring tool in your communication with your audience and how much you value what they have to say which in turn again, will determine the success of your business.

3.  New Customers

Are you receiving an influx of new customers your way?  Customers that want to do business with you and that are interested in working with you - this is a sure way that allows you to measure the success of your business.  The reality is that if you are under the frame of a successful business, this is recognised and noted by other businesses who then want to ‘come under your umbrella’ as it were, to engage in business activities.  At this point, in their eyes – you are successful. 

In doing this, they bring in new clients and customers who are then added to your list and your business is then promoted.

4.  Profit

For the masses, this is a general way of knowing whether your business is successful or not.  Your yearly, monthly profit margins are to be considered.  If you have more coming in, then for sure your business is doing well.  For many people, this is a very important and crucial way of determining the success of your business because it means that your business is not only profiting but also allows you to continue to provide the service or product that it is already giving.

5.  Reviewing Your Current Market

Is your business expanding?  Does your business allow you to dive into different markets?  You will need to keep up to date with the various markets to ensure that your business stays afloat and stays current to attract new customers and to retain your current customers.  If you are able to introduce new products and items to remain fluid through your market – this may be something that will help your business and you can review how that would affect your business, which will then in turn allow you to determine how successful you are.

6.  Performance Reviews

Are you reviewing your business performance yourself?  You might initially think that the success of your business lies externally.  This is not always the case.  As the business owner, you would need to take it upon yourself to conduct performance reviews to ensure that your business is staying in the direction that it needs to stay in.  This will allow you to check your objectives, your targets and your goals and you will be able to see if you are reaching them.  This contributes to your success in an internal way – and this is a very different approach that some may not even realise. 

Measuring the success of your business involves honesty.  It involves being able to decide whether your business is really doing as well - as it might appear.  You might wonder though, how would you measure business honestly?  Well, after reviewing the many different ways of measuring the success of your business,  I can say without a doubt that the best way to do this is to examine your business yourself. 

This is YOUR business…

If in your mind and your eyes, you feel that you are successful – then that is what you have made it.  YOU are successful.  It’s true that the examples above do aid in analysing success, but it only does so from external angles and even then - you just cannot always be certain.  The reality is that, success really is what YOU make it.  You can be given advice and you can receive the best of feedback and criticism but if you know in your mind that you have given your best and you see that you have progressed from when you first began, then you have succeeded.

Please DO NOT allow anyone to tell you otherwise.  Let me remind you again – This is YOUR business.  Success is from within and no one can ever take that away from you.  This means that even if you receive negative reviews and words from others, your passion for what you love motivates you to continue.  Do make use of the tips above, they still remain very helpful.  Use it as a guide but don’t ever forget that success depends on you, not on anyone or anything else.

by Samuel Gitukui

As an entrepreneur, the lightbulb suddenly lights up in your mind and you get that eureka moment, the time you finally get a business idea that could work.

Since you are a careful individual, you ran it past your friends and family and they all seem excited at the prospect.
And then the inevitable happens. You realize that you lack the required funds to actually turn the idea into a tangible business; you will need funding and crowdfunding; angel investors or venture capitalists are options that you must very well face.

Crowdfunding comes with platform fees and angel investors are not easy to come by. Even if you find one, there is no guarantee that you will get them to invest in your startup.

Then there is the third option that promises some hope, venture capitalists. However, it comes with a long process without any guarantees. In fact, self-funding and borrowing from family and friends are the two main ways through which startups are funded. Even still, VC funding remains among the most popular method to secure funds for business ideas.

Very few businesses manage to secure VC funding and the numbers get even lower when the business is at the seed stage.

The good news is, there are other options available that most entrepreneurs may not be aware of but offer great alternatives funding the business idea.

Let’s find out!

Incubators

Note that these do not actually offer funding but rather mentorship and guidance. Unlikely as it may appear, incubators are an invaluable source of launching your business off the ground.

Most will offer office space on tenure for between 3 to 6 months but the business enjoys the direction of more experienced individuals that will help avoid common pitfalls.

Corporate Venture Capitalists

No, these are not the same as VC funding. Here the startup is funded by large companies and has the benefit of offering entrepreneurs more freedom in running the business compared to getting the funds from a VC.

However, the company will expect to be involved in strategic decision making and the entrepreneur needs to be willing to accept the fact that their options are limited here.

Peer-to-Peer Lending

Here borrowers and lenders find each other through an online platform. The borrower creates a profile and receives an interest rate and rank. Lenders can then decide if they want to invest with the borrower.

This is another quick alternative to get funding for the business startup with loans anywhere from $1,000 to upwards of $35,000.

Taking a Microloan
​
Microloans are a simpler and effective method of getting funding for your startup. Most offer loans in the range of $500 to $50,000. However, in the US the average is around $13,000.

These loans can take the stress out helping entrepreneurs concentrate on actually getting the business running.

Purchase Order Refinancing

Here the startup is able to accept large initial orders. The funding company will send the money directly to the supplier and the profit starts flowing immediately to the business.

This type of funding depends on the company that has made the order with the business and is easier than bank financing.

by Samuel Gitukui

Everyone experiences off days when their motivation to work simply isn’t there. You might feel frustrated, groggy and while that voice at the back of your mind is telling you to get grinding, your body simply wants to laze.

For those who have the slightest will to push themselves to work, they won’t be operating at maximum efficiency.

But there is a way around this!

Let’s find out 5 top tips on how to boost our motivation to work.

1.      Remind yourself of your goals and visualize

Research has shown that reminding yourself of your long-term goals puts you in the mood to achieve them. However, our minds are designed to focus on small term goals.

To keep yourself motivated, visualize your long-term goals and work your mind backward to the small steps that are required to achieve the big goals.

2.      Simply begin

Once you start on a project, keeping the momentum going. it far easier than trying to convince yourself to do it when you haven’t already begun. Instead of thinking too much about the task ahead, focus on actually beginning the task ahead.

5 minutes into the project, you just might find that you are looking forward to seeing it complete. The sooner you begin, the sooner you will complete the task.

3.      Add a timer to your schedule.

Everything is so much simpler once broken down into smaller bits of tasks. You can do this by setting a timer where you will work for just a set amount of time and then take a break.

You will be looking forward to the breaks and by focusing on the short task ahead keep you motivated. Suddenly the task doesn’t look so huge anymore as you are only focused on the next bit of work time

4.      Let others know

One of the most effective ways to keep yourself motivated on a project is to speak about your plans to your peers. You will want to prove to them that you’ll indeed do what you said which will push you towards accomplishing your goals. Nobody, after all, wants to be looked at as a failure.

You can even take things a notch higher by letting the whole office know about your plans. This is sure to keep you motivated.

5.      Improve your “self-talk”

Self talk is the internal dialogue that you make with your mind. It can be positive or negative and this has a great influence on your motivation.

If you are not used to telling yourself things like “I can do this” then start now and you'll quickly notice how effective it is.

6.      Make a list
​
Write down a list of all the things you want to accomplish during the day including small tasks. Then set out to complete them one at a time. Each time you finish a task, cross it off the list. the feeling of accomplishment of finishing one task will motivate you to finish the next task.

by Samuel Gitukui

When you first hear the world co-working, the thing that comes to mind is a group of freelancers sharing office space on second hand furniture.

Think again!

Modern co-working has seen great improvements with amenities such as a fitness center, coffee and tea places, bars and cafes and high-tech security.

Freelancers and remote workers now come together to share working space that is also comfortable. Some of the best services can be found here, something that has caught the attention of large companies and enterprises.

This is why.

1.      It is now possible to recruit form anywhere in the world

Companies may not be in a position to have all their personnel working at their headquarters. Coworking provides an alternative where the organization can still find the best services from anywhere in the world and hire.

As opposed to a freelancer working from home, co-working provides a similar social setting to that found in the office which has been showed to improve motivation.

Regular interaction with peers and like-minded individuals is fun and enhances the quality of their work life. There are also amenities similar to those found in at home.

2.      There’s better creativity

Research has shown that co-working can boost creativity. Stepping away from a bureaucratic setting to a freer and more relaxed atmosphere breathes new ideas and life into the work.

And by interacting with others with different skills sets, co-workers learn how to do things better and more efficiently. Updated companies are aware of this and its one of the reasons they seek the services from a co-working environment.

3.      Companies can expand with minimal hassle

Think of a company that seeks to venture into a new market place. How simple would it to start of with co-working facilities and employees? The answer…very simple.

There’s a lot saved as opposed to renting office space and conducting the recruitment process.

In fact, moving to a new geographical area often begins with a few individuals who then grow to 5, 7, 10 and so on. Co-working takes advantage of available space until the number of employees grow to where getting office space is inevitable.

Often a team of co-workers will include 2 to 20 people.

4.      Its cost effective

Okay granted, co-working is more expensive in terms of office space compared to more traditional settings. However, it is cost effective as many an organization has found out.

Normally a commercial lease is between 3 and 5 years. This can prove beneficial for organizations that are not sure how long they will need the space. Often companies rent more space that they initially require which is inefficient.

Co-working is flexible. Most co-working organizations have memberships between 30 days and a year. Companies get the chance to easily scale down or up as need be.

And remember what we said about coworkers being comfortable in their work environment? They are more productive and can be retained for longer which saves the company the expense of recruiting more workers.

by Samuel Gitukui

Social media has revolutionized the way we interact and communicate with one another. And with technology, it is now possible to access data on different areas.

Social network platforms can be a great way to develop a large fan base which provides you with a business opportunity by directing sales to your followers. And this is how…

1.      Make Sure All Your Profiles Are the Same

Whether its Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, it’s prudent to maintain the same handle on all of them. it may seem like something small but this is a significant branding strategy that over time produces big results.

Customers are able to find you through the different platforms and associate content with your individual brand. Once you have gained the trust of your followers, your business can reap massive rewards.

2.      Re-post Testimonials and Content About the Product

Trust is something that is not very easily established especially with the advent of social media due to a lack of physical presence. It is also one of the most important things that drive sales and helps to maintain a loyal customer base.

By re-posting what other people are saying about the product or service you are selling, you develop trust and are actually getting most of the work done by other customers.

Clients simply love reviews and will actually seek them out. You can even create an incentive for customers to leave reviews by providing giveaways.

3.      Target Your Customers

While maintaining a social presence on most of the main platforms such as Facebook is great, it is even better to have a strong presence on the ones where your clients are most active on. It’s all about focusing on the right platform by creating messages that will resonate well with your customers.

In other words, in order to drive sales, you need to speak to those who mainly buy your products and this means finding them first.

4.      It’s Time to Speak Their Language

One of the best and main ways to connect to your clients is to speak like them. This means using their language and vernacular.

It is especially important when asking someone to buy your products, tag friends or leave a comment.

Once you establish that connection, it makes your target audience more receptive to the marketing messages that you send.

5.      Always Leave a Link

Businesses should strive to make it simple for their following to make a purchase. Through social media, the best way to achieve this is by leaving a link that directs people to your products. If the process of making a purchase becomes difficult they will quickly move on to something else.

Put links in the content that seamlessly take your readers to your website with as few as one or two clicks. If it’s more than this, the conversion rate may be low. Features such as Instagram’s product tagging make it simple for businesses to perform well through social networks.

by Samuel Gitukui

Reviews are quickly gaining popularity as a strong determinant in making purchase decisions. You can find them from Google Star ratings to Amazon to pretty much everywhere you look. Even the testimonials on a website are a form of review.

But what fuels the need for reviews? To understand that concept, you will have to look at the numbers. Up to 92 percent of online business customers will go through reviews. Out of that number 72 percent will go ahead and make a buying decision after having read 6 or less reviews.

Without doubt reviews are important to customers which makes it incredibly crucial for business owners to manage them. But the real question is, why do customers value reviews so much in the first place.

Reviews Are Like Word of Mouth

More and more businesses are directing their marketing resources to digital methods of doing business. These include using tools like social media and SEO.

The main drawback with this method of doing business is that it has almost completely eliminated the human factor. Granted sending that add can catch someone’s attention but reading a personal statement about another customers experience with the product is the closest thing to word of mouth that you can find online.

Advertisements will mainly focus on a product’s strong points. Clients only see the good. But the reality of the situation is that all products have their own set of pros and cons. In a review, customers can learn about the downsides of the product and make a more informed buying decision.

Clients are aware that the person who left the review did not get any benefit from it, and that is what makes the opinions trustworthy. As the wall street journal puts it, the behavior of individuals is shaped by those around them and what they consider appropriate.

Word of mouth causes potential buyers to make a choice, one which they believe is the correct one based on the opinions of others.

What About Negative Reviews

It’s easy to think that bad reviews will drive away customers but this is usually not the case. In fact, customers are more likely to trust the review when it shows both the positive and negative features of a product as opposed to just the good points. This creates more transparency.

Not every customer will give a 5-star feedback and yes, too many negative reviews will indeed discourage customers. But a few negative points about the product will emphasize on the transparency of the business.

And for the business, responding promptly to any complaints will create an opportunity for even more satisfied customers which will help you form a loyal client base.

The Individuals Need to Belong

With Social platforms changing the way people communicate, individuals seem to want to have their own social ranking and thus lay out their views about a product.

Not only do customers crave reviews, they also want to voice out their opinions about a product.

by Summer Worsley

The world has expanded and globalised rapidly in the last few decades, to the point that the integration of certain social aspects has started to be the norm. What this means is that things such as culture and languages are exchanged continuously within the international community.
 
Languages particularly play a vital role in the exchange of information. In fact, multilingualism has never been as present in the international business community as it is now.
 
Here, we discuss some of the benefits multilingualism brings to business while highlighting some of its cognitive effects.
 
The English Myth of the Business World 

While English is considered by many to be the official language of business globally, this doesn’t mean that it is the sole competitor.
 
Many people believe that knowing English as their first language is a huge bonus, but in the business world, it can be damaging to think that way. All languages carry some useful clout in terms of business relations. This is in part due to the special economic value each country possesses.
 
Take into account the following situations, for example:
 
China’s economy has increased seven-fold between 2000 and 2015. The nation is considered an economic powerhouse and is home to over 1.05 billion Mandarin Chinese speakers.
 
Arabic is the world’s fifth most spoken language with around 300 million native speakers. This language can be used as a portal to conduct business in the Middle East, the Gulf nations, and in Northern Africa.
 
Japan is the world’s third largest economy with its main economic gains being main in technology and robotics. For anyone wanting a clear path into tech and electronics, learning Japanese is one of the best ways to get a foot in the door.
 
The Benefits of Multilingualism in the Workplace 

There’s been a lot of attention given to multilingualism and the benefits to businesses and workplaces recently. Here are just a few examples of how building a team with multiple languages can give your company the edge.
 
Engage an International Community 

Languages are a vital part of working on a global scale. Language skills facilitate not only ... your competitors but allow for the exchange of products, infrastructure, and assets. If you’re unable to observe or conduct meaningful business relations because of a language barrier, chances are that you could be missing out on a great deal of knowledge; knowledge capable of benefiting your business.
 
For example, from 2004 to 2011 the UK value of Chinese exports quadrupled to 12.5 billion Euro. The takeaway here is that Mandarin Chinese is a highly valuable skill to have when conducting business in the UK.
 
Satisfy Your Clients
 
It’s common knowledge that all of a given business’ clients won’t speak the language of that business. But by having a trained multilingual staff on hand, clients can be satisfied easier.
 
This perk eliminates the presence of language barriers while opening the pathway to long-lasting and mutually satisfying business contracts.
 
Sales Can Increase Exponentially 

The Common Sense Advisory board conducted research on the localisation of sales in global business. They surveyed a total of 10 countries, with each represented by 300 people. The countries being Brazil, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, Spain, and Turkey (they were selected by economic value). To summarize the report, the following results were discovered:
 
Statistics show that 82 per cent of people are likelier to buy promotional material if the content is in their language.
 
Furthermore, 75 per cent of online shoppers are more inclined to buy from websites that have content and products displayed in their language.
 
While 74 per cent is more likely to re-purchase the same brand if they are provided with after-sales care in their native language.
 
Facts about Multilingualism 

• It is estimated that between 60 and 75 per cent of the world can speak at least two languages. Bilingualism (speaking two languages) is the norm while monolingualism (speaking one language only) is the oddity.

 

• Some people in the world can speak dozens of languages, they are known as hyperpolyglots.

 

• In the early 20th century there was a commonly held belief that bilingual children would be intellectually hindered by their language skills due to the increased linguistic activity. However, In 1962 the Peal and Lambert study proved that bilingual individuals actually have an improved sense of “mental flexibility”.

• If you’re looking to increase your salary, you’ll be glad to know that knowing a second language was estimated to be valued at $128,000 over 40 years.

 

​The Cognitive Benefits a Multilingual Team Holds 

Does it matter if your team members don’t speak more than one language? It might. Here’s why:
 
More Grey Matter 

Multilingual individuals have more grey matter in their brains than those who are monolingual.
Grey matter plays a role in muscle control, emotions, sensory perception, memory, and speech.
 
Having employees with these qualities enhanced may prove to be particularly useful in the business environment.
 
Better Problem Solving Skills 

Multilingual individuals can think in multiple languages. Having the ability to think in more than one language means also having the ability to process solutions in more than one way. This cognitive benefit can lead to improved problem-solving skills and enhanced rational thought processes.
 
Powerful People Skills 

Working as a part of a team in a large business corporation is something a lot of people do in today’s society. Having experience in a second language can grant you better people skills through the exposure of different cultures and societal mores.
 
Plus there’s evidence pointing to the fact that people who speak multiple languages are better at commanding executive control of situations through flexible reasoning skills.
 
  
Languages are a critical part of human history, and they are necessarily an integral part of daily life; business is no exception.
 
If you’re questioning whether to pick up a second language to give you an edge in the industry you’re working in, then you’re on the right track. If you’re an employer, consider diversifying your team’s language base.
 
Multilingualism can boost cognitive functions, foster enhanced mental ability, and encourage a healthy flow of information in the international community.
 
Good business requires good communication – but at the end of it all, foreign language skills will determine the limits of your world.

by Samuel Gitukui

Very often when starting a business, limited resources forces owners to perform most of the tasks themselves such as sales, marketing as well as some day to day operations. They also do their own accounting and take part in customer service.

While we can all agree that this is not the most efficient way to run a business, it’s not a wonder to pick on skills from one department and transfer them to another and improve on the general performance of the enterprise.

Take customer relations and sales for example. These two departments might seem different but skills acquired from handling customer complaints can really improve on the performance of the sales team to help build good customer relations. Let’s find out.

Modern Times Demand Modern Methods

Initially, but not in the so distant past, sales people relied on a simple strategy of cold calling and interacting with as many people as possible to drive sales in the hopes that some of them will make a purchase.

While this method did work, modern times are seeing well-informed customers who value the quality of service as much as making the purchase.

The difference between cold calling and offering good service, is that with the second method, the business is able to retain those customers ensuring they make repeated purchases.

In comes the sales team. These people are the initial point of contact with any new and potential customers. If they create the wrong first impression, it is likely that the customer will want to avoid the business. However, if they are engaging and display professionalism, the customers will be easily drawn in.

This is exactly why sales people need to view customers as human beings and not just another deal to close. And what better way of making this possible than by taking part in customer service?

Through understanding the needs of their clients, sales people are able to view them from a customer relations point of view. Customers are more than willing to share their opinions and complaints but may lack a listening ear.

By listening to the customers, the sales people express empathy and tailor their pitch to show how their product can help solve the customers’ problems as opposed to aggressively trying to get them to buy.

Empathy is one of the most important skills that a customer service rep can have in his arsenal and is the motivation to ensuring that the customer’s issues are met and that they leave satisfied.

Better Customer Relations Equals Loyal Customers

Think about it for a second, what would you rather have, a one-time purchase from a customer or a client that keeps coming back for more? It’s pretty obvious that the second type of customer is best isn’t it?

It is one thing to get someone to buy your product, but it is a completely different thing to have a buyer become an advocate for your business. With a few customers, word will get out of the amazing benefits of buying your products increasing sales and revenue.

This can be made possible by providing the sales team with customer relations skills.

Remember, you don’t find customers for your products, you find products for your customers.

by Samuel Gitukui

Technology—we embrace it for all the benefits that it offers, making our work easier, helping us connect and offering entertainment. However, great as it may be, technology has a downside, it is harder to make personal connections.

All of us can think of a way in which technology helps boost business and sales. Take communication for example. It is possible to automate things and send emails in bulk. But the main question is, is this what customers really want?
The simple truth is, personal connections are important as they build trust. Having a large client base that trusts in the service and products that you offer means that they will get the word out allowing your business to enjoy free marketing.

When it’s all said and done, it is not the latest up-to-date technology that will keep your business running, it is the relationships that you build with your clients.

And there are 3 main people that every business should focus on building strong and healthy relationships with—the customers, the competitors and the influencers.

The Customers

While it may sound obvious that a business should have good relations with the customers, making this possible is actually harder than it sounds. Customers are clever. They know inauthentic when they see it after many bad experiences with companies that trying to close a quick deal.

These experiences also make them skeptical and what they are really looking for in a business is a long-standing relationship.

But how can business owners ensure good relationships with clients? There are two main points to note and practice. First, listen to what the customers are saying and second, provide them with what they want.

A good way to show appreciation to customers is sending them an email after they’ve made a purchase or through gift cards.

The Influencers
There will always be influencers in every industry. These are the guys that know how to drive sales and make trends. Aligning your enterprise with influencers can bring with it massive rewards.

These organizations or people have a large following who trust in their lead. To build a relationship with them will also mean that customers will trust in your products as well.

But to create a long-standing relationship with influencers, you have to show them that you can do something for them as well. The relationship should be mutually beneficial. One of the ways to do this is to share content, ideas and information.

There is a massive sales potential once an influencer starts to recommend your products.

The Competitors
 
Business owners view competition as something that needs to be avoided or somehow gotten rid of. However, the competition can turn into an invaluable resource. By connecting with your competitors and making friends, you can learn something new which you can use to your advantage.

On the other hand, bad-mouthing competition proves to your customers that your business lacks integrity, which will take the customers focus off the benefits that your products can offer.

by Samuel Gitukui

Technology is a significant driving force in today’s world. It has found its way in virtually every sector of human lives. Today we want to find out about the technology that drives sales and marketing and one that ultimately helps increase business revenue.

These tools, also known as sales enablement tools can help make the work of the sales and marketing team more efficient which translates to more and faster streaming revenue.

But first…

What Is the Meaning of Sales Enablement?

The main function that centers around the design of sales enablement tools is to help the sales people with the right guidance and training to pass on the relevant information to potential clients and effectively close the deal.

These tools touch on different areas which include communications and customer engagement, training, content development and performance analytics.

One way to be efficient in business is to find what works and to repeat and improve on the process time and time again. The same can be said for sales enablement tools. They provide users with a repeatable process which they can follow to raise revenue and to maintain that revenue.

By using such tools, clients are able to find the most relevant information at the most convenient time. They will help to further integrate the actions of the different departments in the enterprise such as production and branding.

Customers are also provided with the perfect avenue to leave feedback which the business can use to improve service.

When and Where Sales Enablement Tools are Used

Note that sales enablement tools can only be used in 3 main scenarios…

1. Content organization and optimization—all the information pertaining to the business sales department such as competitor analysis, decks, email templates and case studies are organized in a neat, easily accessible format. The sales people can get the relevant information that they require fast and easy.
2. Automation—this makes sending messages and emails to prospective customers efficient without the delay of having to wait for a member of the sales and marketing team to reply to emails and messages.
3. Analysis and Reporting—these tools will provide data on which emails got the most responses and provides information on not just how the sales team is performing, but the results of their engagement with clients. The information can then be analyzed and the right adjustments in the operations can be made.

Are Sales Enablement Tools Actually Helpful?

You know what they say, numbers don’t lie. Research has shown that businesses that use sales enablement tools were over 2X more efficient at creating a link between their sales actions to the revenue realized.

These businesses were also 83% more productive, 58% more efficient at retaining their sales people, had 23% better conversion rate and a 32% higher sales team quota.

Sales enablement tools allow managers and business owners to have insight to the actions of the sales team. They can find out what works and what doesn’t and make the necessary adjustments to optimize what works around the entire sales team.

If you are considering investing in sales enablement tools, great choice. The best tools come from companies such as Guru, CloudMap and Clearside. 

by Samuel Gitukui

Anyone, whether successful or not makes excuses. Sometimes a challenge will face us and once self-doubt kicks in we make an excuse as to why we don’t want to face that challenge.

Think about what happened when you last made an excuse. High chance there was a missed opportunity which ultimately meant failure. No matter which target you want to hit, whether it’s getting fitter, finishing a course or starting a new business, excuses go hand-in-hand with failure.

And there are some excuses that are common and are the result of most people failing to achieve their goals. Let’s look at them now.

       1.      There’s no time
We all have the same 24 hours in a day. Within that time, we meet people we want to meet, do the things we want to do and see the things we want to see.

The same goes for when you want to start a business. If you are about to make the excuse that you don’t have enough time since you work a nine-to-five, then note that you can always wake up earlier or stay up late. If you really want it to happen, then you will definitely make time.

       2.      I won’t get enough opportunities

Being an entrepreneur is never easy. There is no well laid out path from A to B. you have to make things work. If there’s a barrier, either find a way around it or go straight through it. That’s how you move forward. Successful business people are tenacious and are not about to let a barrier stand between them and their goals.

Telling yourself that there are not enough opportunities is an excuse that will see you give up even before you start.

       3.      What will my family and friends think?

Don’t be surprised to find that your closest friends and family do not support your decisions to become an entrepreneur. If you find you are in such a situation, then you can remove yourself from their negative energy. Do what you believe is best for you.

If on the other hand you listen and go with whatever they think is best for you, then you will not get close to even starting that business.

It is simple to go along with what friends and family are saying as it is an excuse why you shouldn’t even start but it should be enough motivation to start your business and prove them wrong.

       4.      I am happy with where I am and what I have

What you are actually telling yourself is you don’t want to work any harder, but then sugar coating it to make it sound more appropriate.

Granted, more material things is not a guarantee of happiness but more often than not, it provides you with comfort and with the right mindset gives you a better life. Never settle, and always strive for more.

       5.      I’m worried about taking the risk

Taking risks is a part of doing business. There is no way around it. If your current venture scares you and you are worried that you may not be able to pull it off, keep in mind that even if you decide to go for the next idea, this second idea will still come with its own set of risks.

To be an entrepreneur also means rising above your fears and worries.

by Summer Worsley
​
Love it or hate it, English has become the world’s lingua franca* and its current position as a communication powerhouse is unlikely to change anytime soon.

For this reason, most businesses online these days choose to have an English language version of their website available, even if the business is not from an English-speaking country.

But with so many varieties of English to choose from, which one should you pick for your company or business?
 
The many varieties of English 

A given language, such as English, often has multiple varieties. In many ways, it’s technically more correct to speak about Englishes instead of English.

From the colloquially informed Australian variety, to the formality of written Indian English, in English we have a language chameleon. One that has been shaped, crafted and changed by the nations who use it.

Did you know that there are around 65 sovereign nations who list English as one of their official languages? Add to this the 30 odd non-sovereign nations who use English in the same capacity, mix in the world’s English creoles and pidgins, season with emerging Englishes, and the result is a linguistic stew like no other.

For the most part, Englishes are mutually intelligible.  Meaning that a speaker from one place can easily understand a speaker from another. That said, it’s also possible that being offered a “switcha” (lemonade) in Nassau, Bahamas would confuse many other native speakers. And being “aksed” (asked) a question in New Zealand would cause many an English speaker to do a double take.

Each variety of English is enriched by local slang, phrases, and pronunciation. But this is all speech, isn’t it different when it comes to text?

In terms of writing, vocabularies are merging thanks to the rise of globalisation, but many idioms remain unknown. Moreover, grammatical constructions used in one variety may be completely unused in others.

And while a heavy use of contractions (it’ll, she’ll, don’t and the like) might be completely acceptable in one variety, even in a formal text, they would be frowned upon in other varieties. For example, Australian English favours contractions and a conversational style, including in government texts. British English, on the other hand, shows less use of contractions.
 
Know your bottle-os from your offies 

Language does not exist in a vacuum. And any language, or variety of that language, is always inextricably linked to culture.

For this reason, it’s important that you gear your English-language texts toward the clientele you’re aiming to convert. It’s no good peppering your texts with regionally specific idioms and vocabulary that are going to be misunderstood by your readers. At best you’ll lose your customer base, at worst you’ll come across as inept and untrustworthy.

This is not to say that you should steer clear of all colloquial language, just that you need to make sure that it fits the audience you’re targeting. It’s no good referring to, for example, a “bottle-o” * or an “offie” * when your readers will only understand “liquor store”.

Colloquial language is a powerful tool for business when used correctly. In fact, studies have shown that the correct use of localised forms of language in text can result in a more positive reception that plain, formal writing would.

Essentially, you can seem more likeable and approachable by making sure that your texts encompass and embrace the culture you’re writing for. Language has a large part to play in terms of social cohesion and your marketing can tap into this and turn it to your advantage.
 
Forget about minding my Ps and Qs, should I Z or S? 

Here in the digital realm we are witnessing an epic battle of sorts. It seems that half of the pages you read these days are written in American English, and the other half, this page included, are written in British English.

Should you capitalize or capitalise on the changing tides of English or not? There’s no correct answer to that question, but once again, it pays to pay close attention to who your market is. Across Europe the preferred form of English is British English. In fact, the European Union uses this variety for all its English-language publications and translations.

But when it comes to international business, northern American English is far more common. Because globalisation is driven in large part by business, it is entirely possible that in the future we will be swapping ‘s’ for ‘z’ and dropping ‘u’ from many of our words. Good news for those who already write this way, bad news for those of us who are somewhat attached to our colourful variety.

In any case, both are easily understood by all readers so long as you pay attention to those pesky bits of vocabulary which don’t cross the Atlantic as easily as the grammar seems to have done.

Oh, and make sure that stylistically your texts don’t alienate either audience. American English does no favour passive sentence construction or long sentences with multiple clauses. And the very notion of “gotten” being a word will send many a Brit running for the OED.
 
Sounds like a lot to take in? If so, keep your focus on the business side of things and let us worry about the words. We like to keep them front and centre (center?) around here.

For further information on how to supercharge your marketing materials and really tap into the national psyche of your target audience, get in touch with us to find out how we can help.
 
 
 
*We’re sure the irony of this usage is not lost on the French
*Bottle-o – An Australian term for a shop which sells alcohol.
*Offie – Backformation from ‘off-licence’ a shop which sells alcohol.

by Samuel Gitukui

The best kind of management will focus on providing employees with a chance to grow and develop. The people you hire should feel cared for and needed as opposed to managing them with fear of punishment and job loss when they don’t hit targets.

And when such employees fail to perform to full potential, they need to be provided with an opportunity to redeem themselves. They are human after all, and mistakes abound. But what happens when they fail to prove themselves when they are given a chance to?

For anyone who has been in management long enough, there are always those employees that keep repeating the same mistakes, and once called in to explain themselves, there’s always the “I’m sorry” response.

A good manager will still not rush to reprimand the employee, but some tough love is crucial to remind them that there are consequences to their actions.

Whether it’s that person who is always late for a meeting or that guy who always has such good ideas that he thinks he can get away with disrespecting his co-workers and when asked about it always pulls the sorry card, it’s pretty obvious the behavior cannot be encouraged.

Simply saying “sorry” doesn’t make things right. People need to own up to their actions and find a plan to make sure it doesn’t persist. What matters is that the employee shows a change in behavior. A good manager puts in place a good support system and puts their employees on the right path before serious consequences happen.

So, how should the employer approach such matters?

1.      Make them aware of their behavior

It is never a good idea to shame employees in public or in front of their co-workers. Instead call them in for a meeting and point out that you have a noticed a pattern of behavior that is less than appropriate. Also make them aware of their sorry pattern and ask them how they are willing to solve the issue.

There could be a health issue or a family situation going on. This is why it is always in order to approach such matters from an empathetic point. Show compassion in such a case and involve HR to provide the employee with all the resources they need to overcome their challenges.

If the problem is coming form the employee’s own negligence, it is still not a reason to be harsh. Start from a position of empathy and work your way up to tough love.

Let them know that the behavior is not fair to the business, or the other employees, and will not be tolerated and that it needs to stop. Otherwise the employee will be left with no choice but to face the consequences.

2.      Support the employee to find a solution

Some problems may be just habitual such as coming to work late and missing meetings. Solving them shouldn’t be too complicated. Sit down with the employee and go back on the scenario to find the cause of the issue. More often than not, the answer lies in changing and improving on the timing by getting rid of unnecessary morning tasks or waking up earlier to avoid traffic.

Take for example someone who is regularly getting to the office late. You can begin by finding out their morning activities such as getting kids ready for work, dealing with traffic or the time they wake up. Most of these can be solved by just waking up earlier than usual.

On the other hand, if someone keeps missing their deadlines, there is a chance that they are simply over-promising on the results or are not good on time management. You can get them to try and set more achievable goals and how to better manage their work and time.

As a manager, when you show workers that you are willing to help them deal with their problems, this is usually enough motivation to improve.

3.      Analyze and understand the project management process

Sometimes the problem is not very much with the workers but with the set-up of the organization. Is there enough free flowing communication? Is the employee’s behavior a reflection of what is actually happening in the department? All this needs to be carefully looked into.

A good manager is aware of the possibility of issues within his own organization and that worker performance could be indicative of this. By solving the underlying problem, you can solve it from the roots for a better-performing workforce.

Sometimes the solution could be as simple as getting a coffee machine to prevent workers from rushing to the nearest coffee shop every so often.

4.      Look at your own behavior

Do you yourself as the leader play the sorry card? Perhaps this is where your employees learnt it from. Before you commit to solve certain behaviors from the workforce, ensure that you are not under the same pattern.

For example, you cannot try to convince your employees to get to work early if you are getting late. It makes no sense. Neither can you reprimand them on a behavior that you do yourself. What we are saying here is, be a leader who leads by example.

As a leader, if you work hard and show empathy when your employees make mistakes, you will encourage this behavior in them as well. Bullies beget bullies.

There’s another big problem that can easily affect the employees’ performance—financial strain.

Money, or the lack of it can be a cause for a lot of stress in all of us. It can be the reason for anxiety which can then be brought to the work place. Employees experiencing financial challenges will show a drop in their performance.

And to prove just how much money is a significant factor in our daily lives, research has shown that up to 72% of people think about their financial situation and get stressed during some time in their day. 22% of people admit to being at some point highly stressed about the money issue.

When the workforce is not satisfied with their pay, there is high absenteeism, low morale, low levels of production and high employee turnover, not good for business.

To deal with such a situation, a good manager needs to ensure that there are measures in place to help keep the employees free of anxiety and stress caused by money.

The financial situation of the employees is yours to deal with

Compared to earlier times, research continues to show that employees are continually facing more money issues, are in more debt and they are unable to save enough. Many employees continue to be worried about whether they will be able to afford their lives after retirement.

And stress affects the well-being of both employees and the business in more ways than one. Not only will they show less productivity, less performance and more absenteeism, they are also more likely to suffer from diseases due to lower immunity. This means more days off work.

Lets recap. This is what you can expect as a manager from a workforce that is experiencing high financial stress:

1. Absenteeism - there will be more sick leaves and just more days off work.
   
2. Presenteeism - this situation is quite interesting. While an employee may be physically present at work, their mind is focused on their problems, which means that they will not be able to function properly.
   
3. Conflicts at work - workers will often be easily agitated which can cause more conflict issues between them and the other employees.
   
4. Health issues - stress reduces the body’s immune system which further causes more strain on the employee through higher hospital bills.

How to provide the employees with financial wellness

Businesses should provide their workers with programs that provide information on how to be financially stable. Tools that help the workers to become more stable by showing them how to save and invest their money will help take off the stress that is brought about by financial uncertainty.

This will have long lasting effects to the business. The employees will feel part of a family and their motivation and loyalty will rise.

Let’s consider some of these financial benefits that the business can offer.

1. Life Insurance - your employees will feel better knowing that there will be a lump sum offered to their beneficiaries in case of their death. It provides them with peace of mind and can help attract talented job seekers to the organization.
   
2. End of service benefits - these are given to the employees in the event they leave the organization, whether during contract termination or if the employee so choses to leave.
   
3. Disability benefits - accidents are unforeseeable and can really put financial strain on someone. When the company offers disability benefits, the employee can rest easy knowing that they are covered in case of any injury or accident that could put them off work for some time.
   
4. Retirement benefits - these are different from end of service benefits. They mostly involve savings and are a great way to ensure employee loyalty.
   
5. Financial education programs -these teach employees how to invest their earnings and how to better save for the future.

Good management is a key role in ensuring the business performs at its optimum. Workers are the most valuable resource and a good manager will see them motivated enough to take the organization to new levels.

by Samuel Gitukui
​
Maintaining good customer relations should be a no-brainer for anyone in business, especially with the intensive business courses and information out there at the convenience of anyone who wants to learn.

Good customer relations create loyalty which means that you can expect clients to keep coming back. The opposite is true as well. A dissatisfied customer will likely seek out a competitor. But to put things into perspective, let’s consider some figures, shall we?

Did you know that up to 89% of customers will quit on a company simply because the service was less than ideal? Customers have also been shown to be 4 times more likely to move to a competitor due to a lack of proper service.

Once you look at things from this angle, then you can’t help but see just how important it is to maintain good customer relations. Let’s consider some helpful tips on how to create and maintain an ideal relationship between business and customer.

1.      Communication and Support

Studies have shown that customers are willing to pay more for better service. As much as getting the product is the main goal, the whole experience matters.  

Ensure that the customer service team is able to anticipate and engage the clients at the moment they walk in looking to make a purchase.

Some people just want to see what is on display so that they can make a purchase later on. Once you provide the best experience and support, there is a high chance that they will come back.

Word of mouth gets around fast and soon the cumulative good service offered will attract more and more clients.

2.      Don’t Stop There, Make Improvements

It is simple to see any interactions with a customer as a one-off experience, but the loyalty strings attach and go far beyond the doors of the business.

This is why it’s important to keep finding new ways to make the experience for the customer more engaging, interactive and satisfying.

It will all add up eventually as your client base starts to increase.

3.      Provide Ways to Get Feedback

Getting feedback is one of the best ways to find out how customers are interacting with the business and the products. You can then take this information and make the necessary changes to optimize on the customer experience.

This should be a continuous process with regular feedback analysis and adjustments. It will help to maintain a happy client base throughout the running of the business.

4.      Prioritize on the Customer Feedback

Research also shows that customers who complain especially on social media want a quick response in under 60 minutes. This information can help put in place measures to record the time when the feedback was sent and deliver a response within the shortest time possible. Priority should be given to the earliest feedback.

5.      Provide All Customers with the Same Level of Service

Traditionally businesses would give priority to their largest customers. However, considering that 70% of all purchases are made based on how clients are treated and the quality of service received, it makes sense to treat customers the same way across the board.

Whether it’s individual buyers or large corporations, providing them all with a good high-quality service will ensure they stick around.

by Samuel Gitukui

As marketers we have an underlying urge to maximize our potential and this means trying to appease as many customers as possible. While it sounds logical, things couldn’t be furthest from the truth.

You simply cannot be everything to everyone and as a marketer, you cannot be in a position to make every one of your customers happy. Saying no may be difficult, but sometimes it is the right way to go.

With the ‘yes’ mindset where marketers are trying to provide the best service and products to everyone, we naturally go for a broad range of products with less specific features. Why? Because we feel more secure that way, like we are not putting the business in any risk by saying no.

But There’s Actually a Risk

By offering a broad range of products, customers cannot identify with the brand and are unsure of what the business actually stands for. This means there will be less customer loyalty as they are more likely to turn to more specific brands that they can identify with.

After a long time spent on trying to appease clients, the business becomes less efficient as it is now using all its resources but isn’t really performing at full potential.

So, what is a savvy entrepreneur to do?

Get Specific

This is the first step towards improving on your businesses efficiency. Hone in on one or two skills that you are really good at and focus most of your resources to these. It will give you an edge over your competitors and help clients identify with your specific brand.

Define Your Target Market

You should next know who will appreciate your skills the most. Yes, the market just got smaller, but you now have a chance to build on customer loyalty. You will not be average at a large number of skills, but professional at a few specific ones.

Once you know who your target customers are, you will be able to tailor your services and products to best meet their needs and expectations.

Strive for Customer Loyalty

You are now focused on who you want to serve. It’s now time to put strategies and measures in place to ensure that your customers remain loyal.

A good following will keep buying from your business over and over again. They will also pass the word out of the amazing benefits that your business offers.

And remember, it is far much easier to get business from loyal customers than to get a new one.

Remain Innovative

Never settle. You want to have an ‘ideas’ pipeline to keep your business innovative and evolving. Customers will remain interested and the business will be at par or even ahead of the competition and will not be left behind.

The longer your customers remain interested, the more they will keep buying from your business.

Show Support for Your Customers

This is an excellent strategy to build even more trust and foster more loyalty from your client base. Your business should show that it is living amongst its employees and should support their social, economic and sometimes political views.

While this may be difficult as it may alienate some, you also stand a chance to pull in more customers since people will view the business as a healthy and important member of the community.

#10 Nominalizations – releasing the power of smothered verbs

…It is a simple truth that in most sentences you should express action through verbs, just as you do when you speak. Yet in so many sentences the verbs are smothered, all their vitality trapped beneath heavy noun phrases based on the verbs themselves. There is nothing wrong with nominalization as such – it is a useful part of the language. But overusing it tends to freeze-frame the action…. (Cutts, 1996)

This is the final post in my summer series on machine translation (in September my guest writers will be returning with lots of interesting topics), and I’d like to briefly look at nominalizations. Basically, a nominalization is a verb converted into a noun. The fun usually starts when it needs support from another verb, such as in the phrase “to give consideration to” (where “give” helps out) meaning the same as “to consider something”.

       He is interested in obtaining a quotation for…
       He expressed his interest in obtaining a quotation for…

Business and science tend to have a penchant for indirectness, verblessness and personification:  

       Die Schnelligkeit der Rückantwort und die Bereitstellung der Antworten
       [The speed of reply and the provision of answers]
      Cleaning and user maintenance should not be made [carried out] by children unless they are older than 8 years           and supervised.

Psycholinguistic studies have found that nominalizations seem to pose greater processing demands than individual sentences containing verbs, mainly because the results of nominalizations tend to be complex multi-clause sentences.

       My going to the store afterwards led to Sam’s objecting most vigorously.
       The sheriff pursued the cattle-rustling cowboys.

So, let’s release the vitality of verbs trapped beneath heavy noun phrases and see what the free online translation programs think. “No small part of language’s value lies in its flexibility” (Quirk & Greenbaum) after all, so there should be scope for remediation.

       Zur Erfüllung eines Bauvertrags sind in zahlreichen Fällen Mitwirkungshandlungen des Bestellers erforderlich.

A literal translation could be:

       The fulfilling of a construction contract in many cases necessitates participatory action by the customer.

Not very nice, is it? Or (with a different focus):  

       In many cases, the customer’s participation is necessary for the fulfilling of a construction contract.

Or even less literal, less formal translations, depending on the context. We don’t really need to be so literal unless it’s a legal text. But I think the machine also felt that the nominalizations sounded a bit odd in English:












It gives us “in order to fulfil” and “the customer is required to participate”. Interesting. Not a nominalization in sight! And if we hand the translated sentence back and ask it to translate it into German, we get:

Um einen Bauvertrag zu erfüllen, ist der Kunde verpflichtet, sich in zahlreichen Fällen zu beteiligen.

The meaning has changed slightly, but still there are no nominalizations. Thank goodness.

Writing well and writing for an international audience are two sides of the same coin. Get the one right and chances are you (and your machine translation tool) will succeed in getting your message across no matter what language you are writing in. Make sure you avoid the pitfalls I talked about in this series on machine translation, such as when using punctuation, the active and the passive voice, literal translations and special vocabularies, homonymy and misspellings, and you’ll capture your audience (and save time and money to boot).

Good luck! And have a great summer!