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7 Things You Should Do to Build a Successful Business

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7 Things You Should Do to Build a Successful Business

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The idea of starting a company is appealing to many people. It makes sense not to be tied to a 9 to 5 job and be your boss. However, it takes a lot to start and grow a business to success. There are, however, many components that must be put together for the success of the company. For instance, you need to get the right team, establish your goals, seek finance, among many others.

This article will educate you on critical things you must do to put your business on the right path for success as you start your business.

1. Have a Strategy to Achieve Your Goals

One important thing to do after deciding to start a business is to have a goal. This will be like the compass of your business that will give you a focus. It is not only about financial resources but human resources and others.

You need a strategy on how to reach your target and the channels that will make that happen. One also needs to contemplate how to make customers loyal to you.

Your approach to financing also matters. You need a cost plan which involves the kind of cost you intend to face. It also requires financing possibilities alongside a plan to cover expenses and make a profit. If you set up a limited company, think about the implication on finance.

2. Stand out from the competition.

Already established businesses all have their strong reputation, brand names, and more. This makes it essential to have something that makes you different in a good way compared to similar businesses. On starting your business, you must prove yourself without the advantage of reputation that other brands enjoy.

As a result, you need to have something that gets you ahead of the crowd, unique to your business strictly. It could be a bonus, new product, which could be the point of attraction to customers. This can serve as a selling point that will attract potential customers.

3. Have Strong Network

New and exciting business opportunities do not simply appear on a platter of gold. One needs to put in effort in terms of networking. Using your current contacts, you can reach out to new ones and strengthen your network.

Social media is an excellent place to start and meet new people. You can consider joining groups and courses that relate to your niche. Also, consider trade shows, workshops, and seminars as it presents opportunities to meet industry leaders and influencers in your field.

Even if you cannot attend such events, have a representative that can promote your business. Networking is a reliable tool to get the lead your business needs.

4. Encourage Recommendations

One of the best ways to market your business is via recommendation or positive reviews. This only happens if you have a good product that has worked for others. A lot of people rely heavily on positive reviews before making their purchasing decision.

However, you will hardly have a recommendation if you are not offering a good product. If your product is of low quality, you will lose customers, which will negatively dent your business.

5. Get the Right People

Running a business is hard work, and you need all the help you can get. This makes it essential to surround yourself with the right set of people.  Moreover, this is not about the workforce alone because you need mentors, advisers, and strategic partners to help during the growth process. With the right people, accomplishing your goal will be easy.

The right team will help transform your business. With the right workforce that shares the same goal with you, meeting your target will not be an issue. This involves having positive corporate culture by building an environment where everyone takes part and contributes their quota for the greater good.

Also, make sure to encourage and motivate your team over time. This comes down to reasonable compensation, bonus, and other sources of motivation. You also need to invest in training your workers and getting them updated on the latest ways of doing things.

6. Have Good Records

A detailed accounting system and good records are essential to the success of your business. It will help with many things like getting funds, paying taxes, etc. Furthermore, it is in your best interest to have good records as they will come in handy in many areas. No matter how busy the business is, good record keeping and accounting systems need to be prioritized.

You need not be experienced in accounting and bookkeeping as you can hire people with such skills. Majorly, you will need a tax accountant or tax attorney who will handle your taxes; a bookkeeper who will log your invoices and expenses and keep records. Make sure to employ the cloud storage system as it will come in handy at essential business stages.

No one prays to have an IRS audit, but in such a case, an immaculate business record can be a lifesaver.  This includes records of receipts, transactions, invoices, etc., as the IRS will want to check such during the audit.

7. Have a Good work Life Balance

One of the menaces plaguing our world today is stress. It is the precursor for other health issues like high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, menstrual problems, etc. This makes it essential to prioritize an optimum work-life balance. There is a reason many companies give vacation to their workers. It provides them with time to relax, recharge, connect with their family and be better equipped for work. This means that working continuously without a break or a timeout can even be counter-productive.

No matter how busy you are, make sure to separate work from personal life. It can be the difference between your failure and success. Make sure not to give in to burn out through working excessively. Make sure not to wait till you see signs of stress before you take a step back. Avoid bringing your work home, and draw the line if you work from home. It is essential not to sacrifice rest and take every opportunity to get it.

Conclusion

There are many things you need to put in place to run a business successfully. However, these seven points can give you a head start on positioning your business for success.

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Archives, Global Trade Daily, Special Reports

5 Ways to Setup a New Dormant Company in UK

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Setting up a dormant company comes with its perks. However, many entrepreneurs and businesses looking to register one such company in the UK do not know how to get the process started. Indeed, suppose you know how to register a limited liability company in the UK. In that case, it might interest you to know that the process for setting up a dormant company is the same, aside from some slight variations.

Though you can find dormant accounts advisors in the UK, it’s equally helpful to understand minor details such as what makes a company in the UK dormant, the information required, and why you might want to register a dormant company.

So continue reading to learn all these and more.

What is a Dormant Company

The term “dormant company” is used to describe a limited company that has been set up with a Companies House, but due to any reason, it hasn’t begun trading or will never trade. Such companies have no significant transactions on their accounts in their financial year. For Corporation Tax, dormant companies are considered inactive. This is because they don’t partake in any trading activities such as:

-Maintaining a payroll

-Managing investments

-Buying and selling products and services

-Earning income and interest

-Purchasing or renting properties

-Earning dividends

-Paying bank fees and charges

-Paying salaries for high officials like directors

-Paying accountancy fees and formation cost for the company using a business account.

The moment a dormant account performs any of these transactions, it ceases to be dormant. Its dormant trading status will move into the category for ‘active’ for Corporate Tax.

Nevertheless, certain transactions are considered ‘significant accounting transactions’ that a dormant company can perform. These are:

-Payment of subscriber shares (the first company shareholders during incorporation).

-Payment of fees during annual Confirmation Statements to Company House.

-Penalties paid to Companies House for Late filing.

Why Register a Dormant Company

Given all the information available on dormant companies and their requirements, the question might have crossed your mind. Why would anyone have a limited company remain dormant? Though it’s a simple question, the answer isn’t so straightforward because there are several reasons why a company may choose to stay dormant. Some of these reasons include the following:

-Keeping a trademark or brand name protected

-Reserving a corporate name for use later

-For holding intellectual property or assets

-To allow an existing business to restructure

-A temporary step in case of illness or death of a business owner

A dormant company can maintain its status for any duration of time. However, all limited companies incur some expenses for being in the official register, dormant companies included. Also, there are specific obligatory ways of reporting and filing with the Companies House and HMRC.

Now that you know the basic information of a dormant company, here are five steps to set up in the UK.

1.  Information You’ll Need

To register a dormant company, you’ll get all the necessary information starting with a unique name for your company and a registered office address.

Next, the company will require a minimum of one director, and all directors will have to provide personal demographics and other information including name, nationality, and even eye color. Every shareholder will require the following information:

-Name

-Number of shares owned

-Value of each share

Finally, the people in the company with significant control will also provide details including name, nationality, and other details.

Once you have all this information, you’ll perform a company name search before registering your company name, provided it’s not taken. But it doesn’t end there, because you’ll need to follow certain formalities to keep your company dormant.

2.  Don’t Trade

Apart from ensuring that your company’s accounts remain dormant by avoiding any of the transactions earlier mentioned, you also need to check with Companies House to ensure you don’t have any ‘significant transactions’ during the accounting period of your company.

The moment any transaction of accounting significance occurs, you’ll need to record it in the account of your company. And by doing so, your dormant account will be considered trading. Which is something you’ll want to avoid.

3.  Get HMRC Informed

Apart from not trading, you’ll need to inform the HM Revenue and Custom (HMRC) by corresponding with them. In case you are wondering, the HMRC is primarily the UK’s tax payment and customs authority. The aim is to update them on your company’s status, letting them know that your company is a dormant one.

4.  Prepare Your Confirmation Statement

Even though your new registered company is dormant and not actively trading, the authorities in the UK still have specific requirements you’ll need to fulfill. One such requirement is the filing of the annual confirmation statement for your company. But why is this important?

The annual filing of this statement ensures that Companies House is always updated with any changes that occur with your dormant company. And if nothing changes, they’ll also be in the know. You can do this either at the end of each period or as required as changes occur within the company.

5.  Annual Filing For Your Dormant Accounts

Finally, the law also requires you to file the accounts of your dormant company. You have to first do this no more than 21 months after the company registration. After this, you’ll have to file your dormant accounts every year. And that’s all you need to do to set up a dormant company in the UK and keep it dormant.

Conclusion

For those operating a previously active company but currently dormant, it’s necessary to contact the Corporation Tax department, either by email, post, or phone immediately. They’ll send a ‘Notice to deliver a Company Tax Return’ to your registered office address.

Then you’ll have to put together a Company Tax Return and accounts for the HMRC and make Corporation Tax payments for any profits you earned prior to the dormancy of your company. After these, your previously trading company becomes dormant. However, if you’re looking to open a dormant limited company for any reason, the steps outlined above should help you navigate the procedures easily.

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Archives, Banking on Global Trade, Global Trade Daily

Top 5 Tips for Successful Online Stock Trading

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Many people consider online trading to achieve financial freedom or have a secondary source of income. However, stock trading is a volatile field that you need to be armed with adequate information to succeed. The information you have will guide your decision and preserve you when it gets tough.

With the level of risk involved in online trading, it is good to learn everything you can. The knowledge will go a long way to guide you and help you err on the side of caution as you trade. We have compiled tried and tested strategies that will guide you towards investing successfully in the stock market.

1. Have a Trading Plan

We can define a trading plan as a blueprint that indicates the money management system for a trader alongside the entry and exit point.

Trading does not come naturally. A blueprint is vital for guidance. It is only your passion to make money and the hard work that comes with it that could be natural for some people. Even with the right skills, one needs to build it via learning and some behaviors.

A trading plan serves as the manual for trading. This is one of the things that differentiate a professional investor from another. It is essential to have an open mind and develop the knowledge that contributes to the overall success. The trading plan does not have to be rigid; in time, one can adjust it based on experience as you trade.

The trading plan takes the guesswork out of the game. It sets out the goal and the strategy you want to use to achieve them. It also spells out your acceptable risk level. With your trading plan, making a decision will be comfortable while trading. Every trading plan needs to have a means of entry and how you will get into a market. It should spell out the indicators and the characteristics of the pricing action to attract you towards a trade. In the same way, it will guide you when to exit.

2. Always Learn From the Markets

With the risk involved in trading, you need to arm yourself with the necessary knowledge. This means that you should find a lesson from each process. You cannot fully understand and predict the market and everything that comes with it. As a result, make it a habit to keep learning.

Politics, elections, world reports, pandemics, economic trends, news events, etc., can influence the market. The market system is pretty volatile and dynamic. A good understanding of the past and present market gives traders a good insight into what the future holds.

With research and insights from the Forex blog, you will understand the facts and interpret various economic reports.

3. Always Have a Stop Loss

Unless you are not willing to accept reality, the loss is inevitable in stock trading. The silver lining, however, is that you can control how much you lose. This is where a stop loss comes in.

A stop loss is like a particular risk value that each trader is willing to accommodate with every trade. It can either be a dollar amount or a specific percentage. The idea is to shield you from excessive risk in the trade. A stop loss is good psychologically as it allows you to accept that you will not lose more than what you set.

While we desire to exit all trade with a profit, this is far from the truth. Consider a stop loss as your imaginary personal protective equipment to mitigate risks. Make sure you always use a stop loss, even if you feel you are a professional trader. If you lose a trading section and exit with a stop loss, the loss will be within reasonable limits.

4. Gradually Build Up Positions

As a trader, your superpower is time. To be successful in trading, your aim for buying stock is a reward. The reward can come through any means like dividends, share price appreciation, etc., which could take a long time. With this, here are two buying tricks that can shield you from the uncertainty of the market.

Dollar-cost average:

This involves a regular investment of a fixed amount of money like weekly or monthly. When the stock price is down, this amount will purchase more shares, and fewer when the price rises. The central idea is to even-out the average price you give out.

Buy “the basket”:

It might be challenging to predict which company will benefit you in the long run. In this case, you buy all of them. This gives you a stake in all players, benefitting from any that generates profits. Besides, the gains from the profit can help you cushion out any loss. With this strategy, you get to identify promising companies and focus on them if you want.

5. Know and Understand Yourself

Market beating strategies and your personality are two different entities. As a result, you should take the time to understand yourself. Understanding yourself involves what triggers you to make decisions and your biases.

Indiscipline and lack of patience are two attitudes one needs to deal with to be a successful trader. The first couple of years as a trader will be a steep learning curve. The various market conditions that influence trading will not come at you in a month or a year. It takes a long time. Expect to make mistakes and learn from them during the early days. At times, trading might require the patience and discipline to do nothing.

One also needs to come to terms with the fact that it is essential to have what it takes to succeed with trading. It is necessary to understand whether one is willing to give what it takes to succeed and how it fits the overall goal. There are many resources online with advice on how to trade alongside the characteristics essential to thrive. Many of those resources agree that a positive mental attitude will position you for fantastic opportunities when trading.

Conclusion

These are vital trading rules that can guide you on the side of caution while trading. Be sure to understand them and how they work together. This way, they can help you establish a successful trading strategy. Trading is hard work that requires discipline, patience, and tenacity. Going through these tips will allow you to increase your chances of success in the field.

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Archives, Global Trade Daily, Special Reports

Myths to Avoid While Creating Startup Businesses in 2021

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There are certain common-lingering myths about startups that might discourage you from starting your own business. Many of these myths are related to the challenges, notions, and facts involved in establishing or running a startup. Owing to these myths, brooding businessman hesitate in giving their thoughts and ideas a physical form. However, all these myths are not true.

Let’s take a look at some of the most common myths about startups that you should avoid in 2021 for entrepreneurs.

Myth 1: Businessman takes a lot of risks

Fact: Businessman takes risks. But that doesn’t mean that they take lots of risks or put themselves in high-risk circumstances all the time. They know how to take calculated risks. If you are not willing to take some risks, you will not get higher returns. Business tycoons might have some good or back luck over time, but they can’t rely on luck to run their business. You might have to take a risk that will not pay off, but do not worry about that. The key to persevering through mistakes is restricting your initial risk.

Myth 2: Entrepreneurs needs a lot of money before starting their business

Fact: According to several studies, investors and venture capital fund only one percent of all the startups. Yes, indeed you cannot start a business without any money, but getting venture capital is not the only solution. Some of the new or small business ideas in India involve applying for a personal loan, business loan, and asking family/friends who are willing to contribute money to their business. You can also opt for bootstrapping strategies which allow in maintaining full control of the startup strategies, avoids time delays, and energy spent in attracting investors as well as retaining maximum equity.

Myth 3: Startups cannot compete against big companies

Fact: Be aware that in the era of startups, actions speak louder than fancy ad campaigns. Your small or new business ideas involve understanding the requirements and niche of your firm. As a startup company, you will not experience the bureaucratic drama that is involved in big companies. This enhances your business agility and you can experiment with the personality of your brand. The two ways with which you can market your company are- establishing your startup for those individuals that fall under the required niche and building long-term relationships with your customers by creating brand awareness. You just need to be more quick and efficient to leave your competitors behind.

Myth 4: You need to be formally trained and educated to start a business

Fact: You don’t need to pursue a business or entrepreneurship course in order to set up a successful startup company. Businesspersons do not need a degree to fulfill their dreams of starting a business. According to a business survey report, many entrepreneurs do not have a college degree. This doesn’t mean that you should not study or go to college. It only proves that one does not need higher education to begin their startup company.

Myth 5: You require a detailed business plan for your startup company

Many entrepreneurs intend to create a perfect business plan. But nowadays markets are changing so rapidly that you don’t know how customers will react to your product or service. There are new technological advancements that might emerge which can significantly alter the business environment. Launch your product, obtain feedback, and move forward to continue your product and business plan.

Myth 6: Startups are only motivated by money

Generating profits is not the only aim for startup companies. Accomplishing a dream is one of the chief motivations of startup companies. Financial stability is their next aim. Financial stability does not mean you have to be wealthy. It means that you can meet your requirements. Leaving a legacy for one’s family and future generations is another motivational factor. Lack of motivation in their current workplace can also inspire people to leave and begin their startup business. Thus, money is not the only motivational factor.

Tips for the new entrepreneurs before starting a new business

-An entrepreneur should have a clear vision. He should be able to create the vision he desires to do in his business.

-Before starting any business, an entrepreneur should prepare a solid business plan, i.e. marketing strategies, microfinance for business, etc.

-An entrepreneur must be physically and mentally prepared for any predicament and should be able to handle it gracefully.

-The entrepreneur should hire people who fit in their culture and share their values.

-An entrepreneur should not stop learning. They can take a look at free or low-cost e-learning resources that are offered by the Hubspot Academy, Udemy, and other such online platforms.

Conclusion

Before starting your startup company, it is essential to understand the difference between startup myths and startup reality. Follow the new business ideas stated above and create a successful business.

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Archives, Global Site Selection, Global Trade Daily, Special Reports

7 Tips For Starting A New Business Overseas

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Moving abroad has been the dream of many people. Instead of traveling for a vacation, you can move to another country and establish your life there. Setting up a business is one of the best ways to settle abroad. But what are the odds that your business will succeed? That is the worry for most people who intend to start a business abroad.

This article aims to give you hope and remind you that it is still possible to do business overseas. Once you are set, you can travel to any country that you dream of living in and start your establishment. All you need is a market for your products and comply with the local government regulations. On top of that, be aware that sometimes you may be far from your establishment or home if you do not intend to move permanently.

These seven tips should help you to successfully run any business of your dream in a foreign country.

Pick Your Ideal Destination:

Before you can travel and start your trade overseas, you must be specific about the place you want to settle. Many factors will determine your destination. The climate of the region can so much affect how you cope with the transition. For instance, if you come from the tropical regions, moving to the colder regions might be a harsh encounter, and you will take time to adapt.

You would also want to research the economic and political stability before you move your investment there. You cannot put up your business in a place where you cannot sleep peacefully or are not sure if the product value will fall and lose your investment.

Learn the Local Language and Culture:

When entering into business, you should expect to interact with the local community. People are always skeptical when it comes to new businesses. They want to learn your business model, treat them, and your attitude toward their way of life. As you must be aware, nobody wants to give up on their culture.

Therefore, your business idea should not cross the customs of the people in the country you want to settle. Learning the local language makes it easy to blend with people and understand each other – improving your services to the consumers. However, the language will come in slowly when you finally settle.

Evaluate the Market:

Market research is essential when starting up a business abroad. What do people like? How specific are they when they buy their products? What pulls them to other brands? In your research, you need to understand two things. First, you should know who your ideal customer is and what they want. You also want to learn some things about your competitors.

How has the product you intend to launch been doing in the past – or anything similar? Knowing other traders’ performance in your industry will help you understand the growth potential of any new investment in the region. If your competitors have had some growth, you can invest in the industry and acquire customers.

Legalize Your Operation:

Each country on the planet has its laws regarding business operations. You should, as a fundamental step, register your company abroad when starting. Later on, you will want to register trademarks as well for your convenience. Inquire about business registration and licensing requirements, because in some regions, they are offered separately.

For small businesses and operations like retail and supermarkets, you may only need a local business license to operate. However, if you are into manufacturing, assembly, and supplies, you will need to register a company. You can consult an attorney about the process or visit a registered company formation agent to complete the registration process.

Expand Your Network:

Connections matter a lot in every aspect of our lives. In business, we need to engage with people who know the surroundings and the requirements we need to fulfill to ensure that we run our ventures smoothly. When you plan to move abroad, you should get in touch with businesses and people who can help you start.

Relationships also create lasting trust between you and your network. The network you have can support you in many ways through your business and provide any assistance you may need during challenging moments. It would help if you did not ignore your competitors as they are vital for the growth of your business.

Start with Freelancers:

Managing employees might be another issue people worry about when thinking of setting up a business overseas. How will you compensate your workers? What terms do you need in a foreign land? What about taxes and insurance? All these things might consume your time, money, and brains.

Managing employees has never been easy, and it is not going to be any time soon. As a startup, you should think of ways to run your business without formal workers at your premises. The initial stages of a business setup may not need workforce until you establish a customer base. Therefore, you are better off paying freelancers for the available tasks and pay them hourly or on daily wage agreements.

Set Up a Website:

We are in the 21st century when digital marketing matters in all business sectors. As a startup, you want to reach more prospects both locally and through the states and beyond boundaries. Various marketing channels are essential, but you need to reach more customers online through social media, content marketing, and PPC. It would help if you did not forget about SEO and the long-term customer flow.

However, all forms of digital marketing have something in common. Consumers interested in your ventures need to click on a link or button to read more about your business and products. You must, therefore, have a website for people to learn more and interact with your brand. Ensure that you have your contact information on the site, and make it easy to access mobile devices.

In Summing Up

Moving abroad to start a business is an awesome idea. Therefore, you should make sure that everything you will be doing is compliant with the local authority laws and consumer expectations to sustain growth. Research is essential, and preparation in every aspect is mandatory. Give no room to chances, but exploit every opportunity to grow.

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Archives, Commentary, Global Trade Daily, International Trade

5 Ways to Protect Your Trademark Internationally

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Every business has its trademark or unique symbol. If you are operating within the United States, you certainly have a US trademark to secure your business from any trouble. It exclusively belongs to you. A trademark distinguishes different products; it builds goodwill, which continues even after your death.

But what if you want to expand internationally? How will you protect the trademark if you plan to sell your goods in Asian or European countries? In such cases, you have to opt for international protection. This article will guide you thoroughly regarding the ways to protect your trademark internationally.

1. Selecting a Strong Symbol Is the Key

What is the very first thing that the customer sees when buying a product? Of course, the trademark! Thus, it should be both strong and unique to avoid infringement.

-Take your time to choose it. According to the USPTO or the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the trademark should give just a hint to your service; it should not be explanatory or generic. For example, you cannot understand their business from names like Nike or Starbucks, can you?

-How do international countries translate your trademarks? Whether they will do it phonetically or accurately? Keeping these pointers in mind is crucial if you have plans to have international customers too.

-You might have heard about Gerber, the repute baby food maker. But do you know that Gerber is used as slang in France? Thus, before fixing the trademark, check out whether it means something insulting in the international countries.

2. Going to USPTO for Registering the Trademark

To protect the trademark internationally, you first need to register it overseas, and registering it with the USPTO is vital. US registration is quite hassle-free, and after it is done, you can register the same trademark in any other country within 180 days from the date of US registration.

Next comes the extensive searching for the trademark to ensure that it does not have any similarity with any other brands in the world. You can opt for a DIY search to cut down the cost, but to be sure, give this responsibility to the trademark attorney for a better trademark office action. It is wise to avoid confusion or infringement by spending some extra bucks.

Which international classes should your trademark application contain? Which filing methods international countries follow? The trademark attorney will guide you in these aspects too. So, before registering the trademark, do not forget to have a thorough discussion with your attorney.

3. Finding out the International Markets Requiring Trademark Protection

Opting for international trademark protection might feel daunting in the beginning. Thus, if you have collaboration with any international distributor, first register your trademark there. Do you carry out your business online? If yes, then locate the place where the majority of your customers belong?

Also, determine your target market and the future of your business there. After that only, apply for trademark registration there. For instance,If you sell winter gears for adults, you should first register it in Canada instead of the Caribbean.

Using a defensive trademark protection strategy is sometimes very effective by which you need to file your registration in India or China, the first-to-file countries. So, first, prepare a list of the countries where you are planning to expand your business with the help of your trademark attorney. Next, it gets an idea about the cost of trademark protection in those countries. Now go for the ones that do not need you to burn a hole in the pocket.

4. Registering the Trademark Internationally

If you have already registered with the USPTO, do not waste time; apply for international registration immediately. It will give you an edge over others, especially the bad faith registrants. You can have some options for international registration.

-You have to abide by the Madrid protocol having 122 countries as its members. Following this treaty, you can send a single application to any of these countries in your mother tongue. This way, the filing method becomes easier. However, it has no guarantee of approval as it totally depends on each country.

-To apply in a particular country, you might need the help of the list of international trademark offices provided by WIPO or World Intellectual Property Organization. Though this process is time-consuming, the chance of approval is more as you can give accurate information as needed by the specific country.

-Are you planning to secure your trademark in those particular countries? Then this process is the best for you as the Madrid Protocol is an extensive process and often does not include the particular details.

-Opting for registering transliterations or registering the name in their language is very effective in this respect. Use the WIPO fee calculator to get an idea about the registering costs.

5. Your Trademark Is Ready? Now Keep an Eye on Its Use

Regulating and monitoring your trademark on a regular interval is imperative, and you should do it both in your own country and in international countries. After successful registration, the ® symbol should be used without fail. Whether you are showing your trademark on your products, or the banners or on your website, that symbol should be omnipresent. This way, everyone will know that your trademark is legal and secure, and you don’t have to face any dispute.

But to be on the safe side, always monitor both offline and online selling your products, and have a thorough idea about the trademark protection rights of international countries. International trademark protection is the need of the hour for every flourishing business as forging trademarks is now all over the world. So, despite following all the legal procedures, you need to be on your toes all the time.

Final Thoughts

In a nutshell, follow the five ways stated above, hire a reputed trademark attorney, know all the ins and outs of trademark registration and be alert and attentive. Then no one can stop your business from reaching the sky!

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Archives, Global Trade Daily, Software, Special Reports

3 Ways Data Analysis Can Refine the Customer Experience

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Nowadays, you have to understand what the customers need if you want your business to succeed and grow. If you don’t put some effort into doing that, you might miss out on crucial details about what customers are looking for in businesses. It will force them to look for other alternatives. In this article, we’ll discuss three ways to use data analysis to help your business boost customer loyalty, among other things.

Customer Experience and Why It’s Vital in Business

Customer experience is the customer’s interaction with your business at different touchpoints. It refers to how customers will engage with your online ads, websites, mail, social media, commercials, visiting your store, phone calls, buying and using your products and services, etc.

So, customers always think about the kind of experience a company offers before checking on the quality of goods. It means that if your business offers great products but sucks at offering excellent customer experience, then people will start buying from your competitors. Therefore, you must always do some data analysis to ensure your business delivers exactly what the customers want.

Your customers will always observe a brand’s performance and compare it to their expectations. So, every interaction a customer has with your business and its products leaves a long-lasting impression, which then creates a certain opinion about your company. It explains why it is vital to keep a customer’s needs first to help get better results at the end of the day.

Many companies now agree that using data analysis helps boost customer experience hence more sales. However, measuring customer experience and applying it to your business to get results are two different things, and most businesses struggle with the former.

So, how do you measure customer experience effectively?

There is no one perfect way to measure the customer experience. However, here are the three most effective ones you can trust:

1. Customer satisfaction (CSAT) – It method involves reaching out to your customers after a certain sale, asking them to rate the service. You will get results ranging from not satisfied to very satisfied.

2. Net promoter score (NPS) – In this one, you ask a customer to rate your business on a numerical scale. Here is the most common one you might have come across, “How likely are you to recommend us?”

3. Customer effort score (CES) – It one helps to find out how much effort a customer needs to fulfill a certain task on, let’s say your website. Most businesses use a defined scale to do this, which also acts as a small survey. It contains options such as I agree, and I strongly disagree.

Redefining Customer Experience Through Data Analysis

Once you have mastered how to capture customer data and measure their experience, you can improve your services and delivery. These are some of the ways how data analysis refines customer experience.

1. It Helps You Understand How to Respond to Your Customer’s Needs Intelligently

Quality data is the biggest foundation of developing a great consumer experience. Customers and prospects usually generate a lot of data by engaging in different online activities, especially when engaging with your business.

Most leading businesses today tap their prospect or customer data from the activities generated through indirect or reseller channels.  You can gain some insight by combining the views of your data sources with detailed demographic information.

The first step you must take is developing a good strategy to help you access and integrate customer data. Choosing to focus on one touchpoint to get data can be a good idea, but it’s always best to try and use several sources. The main goal is to understand one common view that all customers have. It will give you a good view of your customers’ experiences and interactions across different channels. That way, you can easily respond intelligently to what your customers need.

With this information, you can easily determine the relevant goods and services your customers need from your business. A link building agency can also help to bring more targeted potential customers to your website, who you can then study to see what you can do to win their loyalty.

You can also work with your IT experts to help turn the customer data into an EDW (Enterprise Data Warehouse) that will serve different functions or servers. However, most businesses find this quite challenging, not just technically but also financially.  Luckily, there are pre-configured platforms you can use today to help make the data consolidation easier.

Therefore, you should evaluate some relevant approaches to determine which one is more relevant. Also, check for one that can provide the best data to better fulfill the customers’ needs.

2. It Helps You Determine Customer Behavior

Predictive analysis can allow you to anticipate your market and customer behavior and respond accordingly. Its analysis involves data mining or statistical tools and methods that help to develop predictive models. OLAP and BI are some of the most effective systems you can use as they enable you to assess past and current events.

So, doing data analysis can help you employ excellent tools and methods to explore patterns and trends in data to determine things that can happen if certain factors change. With that information, you can easily tell what most customers have in common, making it easier to fulfill their needs.

Some predictive analytics solutions can also use software computing power and automation to help you get insights faster. Using powerful algorithms can help mine plenty of data and rapidly analyze patterns, correlations, and affinities. Additionally, combining software automation with great data access can help your company evaluate performance more effectively.

You can see much success by implementing some predictive data analysis using data sources such as transactions or any other application data. Doing this can help your personnel in stores, contact centers, or those managing e-commerce sites to easily adjust marketing offers accordingly.

3. Helps Build Better Customer Relationships

A good company-clients relationship is a vital factor you must always consider if you want your business to thrive. Data analysis provides you with different ways to build a great one. If you want to be the go-to business for people looking for the services you offer, you must be a good listener. What does that mean?

You can use social media to help conduct some sentiment analysis, which can show you how customers regard your services. You can also check your help-tickets to see what your customers complain the most about. This information can show you where to improve hence allowing you to provide exactly what people need and better customer experience.

Some customers might also indicate in the help ticket the kind of services they expected to find from your company but didn’t. You can use this data to ensure your company has everything customers in your niche are looking for.

A good example is how a shoe store can observe the size of shoes that get more purchases or those that get many returns. That way, they can easily ensure the highly demanded product is always available hence boosting the customer experience because they never miss what they planned to purchase.

Summing it Up

We are living in a world where everything is analyzed. Your customers look at how you treat your clients and the quality of the goods you sell. You must always make data analysis a huge part of your business because it allows you to study crucial trends in the market and your customer’s behavior. Doing this helps to understand everything you need to do to ensure you meet people’s demands.

When customers visit your business to purchase a good or service and get what they need, you automatically become their favorite place because you have proven to be reliable. However, if potential clients come to you and don’t get something they wanted or your employees don’t act professionally, then you can easily lose them. Since you cannot provide customers with the great customer experience they expected, your competition will take over.