If you are a small business, and you are having a hard time getting more customers, do not fret. It is totally normal. You are not alone. It is, in fact, a very common challenge for new businesses. All businesses are always looking for ways to expand their customer base so they can sell more. It is important to grow it because having a robust customer base is more dependable when it comes to sales than trying to acquire sales from first time or new customers. Question remains, “how do you get more customers?” Here at CEO SUITE, our global perspective, with our Premium Business Centres in 9 countries, enables us to realize what usually works for many companies. Here are a few tips that any business owner can use regardless of their company size, or budget:

1. Proposition an irresistible offer.

There are many ways to create an irresistible offer. One way is to give free trial of your services for a duration you think is fit for your timeline, and budget too. Another way is to provide many freebies inclusions on the package you are selling; you can also provide return/refund policies. Investing more on your current customers is the way to go. It costs less to generate sales from existing customers than to create new customers. If the case is opposite, then you should come up with an offers that’s irresistible to your potential customers. If you’re confident about the quality of your product or service, you can feel confident knowing that many of these potential customers will convert into actual customers. That pretty much sums up the whole idea for you.

2. Get closer to your clients.

Forming partnerships even beyond business with other related business owners is one of the best ways to grow your customer base. Proximity also plays a great role here, the closer you can get to your customers, the easier and more convenient it is to get to know them better as a company, a business, a client and as a friend. In this way, you will learn how you can help them better and meet their needs and expectations. This is also one way to know how you can improve and develop your products or services more.

3. Provide newsletters.

A newsletter may just be a very small thing, but newsletters are like your informants to clients. You can provide them for free. Through newsletters, you are letting both your current customers and potential customers that you are willing to provide them free and relevant information about your business, your products and/or services.

4. Take advantage of social media and online promotions.

Social media have now also evolved into something greater. You can consider them as an excellent tool to get insights of your audience, and an excellent hand to reach out to new and potential customers. What’s good about this is, you can promote everyday for free or without cost as long as you allot enough time to take care of it. It is also a good way to interact with your audience in real time without having to ask them to visit your official website since a big percentage of population today stays the whole day lurking on their social media accounts.

5. Think BIG!

Many small businesses find it intimidating to make contact or work with big companies. If you are always asking if you can do it despite having such a small company, the answer is simply, YES! We now live in a world where businesses have started thinking differently. Gone are the days when big corporations think suspiciously of small-scale businesses to be their providers. Now, big companies have started recognizing and considering small companies because they usually offer value at much lower costs.

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There are so many tricks and tips you can use when you are in search for an office space.

Having an office space can drain your company’s resources. For start-ups, it may not be advisable to pursue except for unique business solutions that may be available.

Standard commercial real estate companies usually demand 5-20 years of lease terms, not so much of an ideal requirement to new businesses who are in need of more growth opportunities and do not need extra and binding liabilities.

Although there are other factors and things a business can consider to minimize cost and maximize profits, such as downsizing personnel, the office space plays a major role in the financial budget of any company.

Any startup entrepreneur or business should know that nowadays, leasing covers and talks about more than just getting a workspace. Just like times have changed, business’ needs aren’t always now fit to operate in a plain and bare commercial space.

The rise of serviced offices and virtual offices have changed the way people and business work and function. There are also shared offices, which some call Co-Working Spaces, where terms of payments and leasing requirements are flexible while also giving better opportunities for other business networking matters. Many big companies today have also started their way from leasing co-working spaces, some even started on sticking to working at home and just getting their companies a virtual office while continuing to work on the growth of their businesses.

The main reason startup businesses should not commit to a conventional office space is the big chunk of liquidity lost. Imagine a small business, having just enough to continue operating everyday with high hopes of many opportunities to open being required to give away half, sometimes even more so, of their liquid cash just for an office space, which still needs so much work to polish with furniture, facilities, and appliances every office needs. Getting rid of high operating costs like this is a big breather for small companies, which in return frees up capital and enables these small and start up businesses to do more and stay liquid.

Commonly, many businessmen mistake these types of offices (serviced offices, virtual office, shared offices) as only an office for certain types of businesses, such as small ones, startups, businesses that are offering services too. Truth is, these types of offices cater even to big and multinational companies, as these types offices offer them chances to branch out internationally with more ease, comfort and assistance. These types of offices are usually equipped with a workforce that is hired to focus on aiding your needs. Also, these types of offices are usually present in prestigious business addresses and places, better computers, communication technologies than what you or your company could afford alone. These types of offices are like an “easy in, easy out” set-up between companies and themselves, offering less hassle and faster turnover which enables companies to start working, functioning and operating in no time. It is simple a commercial space that delivers you value and truth in “start working right away” promises, getting you equipped straight down to business.

Settling in for a serviced office, or a virtual office, or a shared office space is a cost-effective solution to your office space dilemma, especially when you are the type of business or company that needs to avoid the trials and ordeals of a traditional / conventional property letting such as a wowing 20 years of lease contract, getting reliable references, big amount of deposit requirements, personal guarantees from directors, min. size requirements you have to lease, cost of equipment and furniture to fill in the bare office space. Most of all, beyond the budget you need to allot for your serviced office / virtual office, or shared office space, do not forget that what you paying for goes beyond just the physical aspect of it. You are buying time, paying for more time you can well use for other things — say more important ones, like sales, networking, partnerships, and the likes, than allotting those time for setting up a plain and bare office space.

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One undeniable fact we all have to live with is the fact that most of us have work at places we are less excited to get up in the morning and go to. There are traffic jams we have to think about even before riding in our cars. There’s also the money we spend that we have to consider for our transportation to our workplaces. The time we also waste to travel is also there. It is much more pleasing and way less taxing to go to a work environment that is filled with positivity and fun. A workplace that is filled with these positive energies creates better emotional health, physical health even, and productivity. The better we feel at work, the more we genuinely enjoy our jobs and strengthen our loyalty to the company we work for.

Here are a few tips that can help you promote a good working environment in your workplace to keep your team motivated, productive, successful and maintain positive vibes within the whole company:

1. BE A POSITIVE PERSON.

It is like a rule of thumb, if you want your officemates or the people around you to be positive people, you must also throw out positive vibrations to them. It has to start from within you. Present an attitude of positivity, enthusiasm, and approachability. This way you can show your coworkers that you are a welcoming person, available when you needed, and also willing to be of help. Smile, be pleasant, be a nice person. Talk and converse with kindness and encouragement. Most importantly, never entertain or start complains, whine, and gossip.

2. SET AN EXAMPLE.

It is people’s nature to mimic what they always see from people they are always with. If people in the office see you merely surviving your work day, then that’s what they think is the norm and will tend to mimic the exact energy. But, if they see and feel your enthusiasm at work, they will also feel more inspired to be at work and in return be more productive and driven at work.

3. BE AVAILABLE.

Being available is like being a welcoming person to your coworkers. If you are bogged down with all the things you need to do, you may appear distant to your teammates. It is usual to be usual at work, especially if it is a crucial day for the company, but trying to take at least an hour or two our your whole week just to share conversations with your officemates and ask them about how everything is going for them in the office may mean a lot and will give them a relief from all the office stress. This is why if you think you are filled with so much work and doesn’t have the time to do this anymore, it is advisable to consider outsourcing business support services to help you manage some of your duties and tasks. Your workers, employees, officemates, and/ or delegates’ emotional, physical and intellectual health are of much importance to your company’s health. They’re the ones helping you run the company, after all. There are many business services outsourcing firms you can check out, for one, CEO SUITE offers complete professional business services solution – from accounting and taxation, to company registration, secretarial support, hiring and recruitment. It doesn’t matter if you have only a virtual office space in CEO SUITE Hanoi, or a serviced office space in CEO SUITE Hanoi, these business services support solutions is something every small and large scale business owners should consider.

4. TAKE FEEDBACKS.

Along the many months, even years, you spend with these people in the office, it is normal to see some employees who appear to be getting bored, tired and uninspired with their jobs. You can ask them what can be done to boost their motivation and happiness with their jobs. Listening and taking into consideration their feedbacks can give you insights that help you also better the company’s approach and relationship to its employees.

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Digital marketing is a vast and confusing field that encompasses a massive list of marketing opportunities, including social media, content marketing, advertising, search engine optimization, demand generation, retargeting, communities, viral video, mobile marketing, and online reputation management.

When it comes to digital marketing, many business owners and entrepreneurs are intimidated and confused because digital marketing, in reality, is actually a vast and complicating arena that covers a immense list of marketing opportunities and platforms to tap. This is why many business owners and entrepreneurs are led to believe that they have to cover all areas of digital marketing to grow their business successfully. But just the same with other marketing efforts, it is important that you study what will work for your business online.

In most cases, having a good and professional looking website- one that is easy to navigate, one that comprises of brief but complete information, and offers easy client support, adds great help to your businesses’ success. Imagine having to lessen your cost for your brochure production, only this time, your website actually builds a relationship with your customers and clients from anywhere in the world.

There are still many business owners and entrepreneurs who are still confused and still aren’t sure where to start with digital marketing, you can consider starting with Digital marketing foundations that every business professional should know:

Social Media
It is now an era where there are more people who check Facebook many times everyday than read a newspaper or be on the radio. Social media has been considered as the no. 1 activity people do on the web. With that being said, social media should already be on your radar. In fact, it is imperative in this day and age to be a part of it. Even if your business doesn’t seem like a social media driven business, it is important that you understand this tool, how powerful it is and how it impacts your business and your market.

Search Engine Optimization
People always start with search when they want to buy something. Understanding how search engine works is important, because you’ll see here how your business is actually represented on search engines.

Conversion Optimization & Planning
The end goal of all marketing and digital marketing efforts is always about getting people to do something, to take an action. Conversion optimization is all about getting your market to do what you want them to do, like making them go to the mall and purchase your product. Planning conversions, on the other hand, is about providing your people, your market the map to take the action.

Online Advertising
Online Advertising is a very helpful and powerful tool, regardless of what your business size are for online advertising runs your ads with a workable budget. The really amazing thing about online advertising is it can reach and tap the exact audience that you want your ad to get in front of. It is a simple but huge new age way to retain your current customers, and to get new customers.

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Business networking is usually shortened to “networking”, which usually is confusing to many with computer networks, relating to net connections and accessibility to multiple computer systems. Business networking is different. It is an effective (proven through time by many businesses) low-cost marketing approach for developing or growing sales opportunities through contacts, referrals and introductions. These are usually done face-to-face, or through physical interactions through meetings, events, gatherings, and sometimes through phone calls, emails and now, through the increase of heavy users on social media and business networking platforms online.

Business networking is one marketing method wherein you make the saying “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” work for you.

Here are tips you can use for to make your networking efforts work:

1. Be prepared.

Opportunities for networking may present themselves anytime, anywhere. It is important that you are always ready to meet new people. You have to know by heart what you can offer to these people. And not only that, you also have to know what information you actually need, so you don’t get lost in the middle of the conversations you’re going to have with the people you’re going to meet. You can start your preparation by keeping an open mind. Plan your networking events in advance; write down your schedules and whom you’re meeting. Be aggressive in knowing the next “it” events from the people you meet. Seek out like-minded individuals from the events you attend, as well as more experienced peers. Always have a business card on hand. Having a card available makes it so much easier for you to follow up with these people you meet, and for them to really remember who you are. Add keywords at the back of their name cards on topics you have discussed when you met personally for better recall in your next interaction.

2. Give.

All great relationships are built on give and take. To be able to play and work effectively at the same time, you must be willing to give. Humans are wired and driven by their desire to be reciprocal. As best-selling author and Professor Cialdini puts it, “reciprocity is one of the most powerful influence and communication techniques. The power of reciprocity, and our human desire to want to give back to others who have first given to us, is one of the most effective ways of building a supportive network.” Invest in giving and reap back its rewards in time.

3. Be in the right places.

Networking’s end goal of course, is closed sales. It is impossible to be able to do this by just depending on phone calls, and digital marketing efforts and staying in your office. It pays to actually get out in the open- to be where your customers are, or are likely to be. Determining which fields of businesses can best help you can be a great start, and then go where you see it is most likely to find the people you want to meet to reach your goal. Make sure you are subscribed to the e-newsletters of the biggest business associations in your industry or foreign chambers of commerce groups and take part in their regular activities. That is when and where you meet the right people for your business.

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Here are some smart tips on foreign ownership/equity restrictions to get you started:

The Philippines has been traditionally known to restrict foreign ownership of companies to 40% of total equity only, with 60% equity reserved for citizens. The government, however, has initiated actions in the past to relax this rule in order to attract foreign investments to help grow the country’s economy.

This guide is intended to help prospective foreign investors and/or their local partners or agents to determine how much foreign equity is allowed in their line of business.

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For those business-minded people or entrepreneurs who are eyeing to start up their own business, getting franchise businesses can be a good alternative. It has lesser risk than that of starting your own brand or business from scratch. The great thing about getting a franchise is that almost all the work is done — the business plan; established and strong recognition of brand name is already evident. Plus, most of the marketing and advertising efforts are mostly done by the franchisor, which you can consider as reduction to your operation budget already. Nevertheless, just like any new business, there is a still risk you may have to consider. Though getting a franchise also buys you a lot of time and things to do, your business’ success still relies on you.

Here are a few tips you may want to consider before taking a franchise business:

1. Do your research.

You are solely responsible for the due diligence before you invest, as Founder and CEO of CorpNet.com, Nellie Akalp said. Your knowledge and skills are your weapons in the business warzone. Though getting a franchisee may seem to be easy because almost all the hardest work are done, it is still important that you keep updated about things before investing. Know about the company or brand you intend to franchise, it pays to check thoroughly the franchisor’s capacity to support you. Another thing to research about is the company’s solid track record, it is always better to go for a franchise of a business whose operations and sales are proven successful.

2. Consult a Specialist.

Do not just give in to charismatic franchise agents offering you franchise businesses. It is very important that you are ready and that you have studied the concept of the business franchise that is being presented to you. You can get help in reviewing the contracts carefully by a lawyer, the numbers by the accountant or a business development advisor who has extensive experience in the franchising industry. You should know exactly what you are getting yourself into before giving it your hard-earned money.

3. Know your net worth and liquid capital.

Having a bigger bank account is usually more attractive to franchisors than having bigger assets. You must be confident that you are liquid enough to keep your franchising business going despite off seasons of the business.

4. Be open to learning and socialize with like-minded individuals.

You can never really learn much by yourself. To see and know more about what’s on offer, it is vital that you meet the right people in the industry. Attending seminars, trade shows and the likes provide a lot of help. This way, you can also widen your horizons, and know about other companies you may not have crossed path yet with who actually offer better deals.

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Boarding on the entrepreneurial expedition is a high-risk, high-reward exchange. There is a huge dissimilarity between wanting to do something and being able to make a living from doing that thing. Being a fruitful business proprietor requires capitalizing your own money complemented by a lot of time and effort from your end. Despite the charm of being your own boss, the truth is that not everyone is patterned to be a successful business owner. If you harbor dreams off joining the small business owners’ standing, you must first be able to determine if you are fit to be your own boss. We are, after all, ourselves’ greatest opponents and support group, at the same time. Here are a few questions and things you would need to consider and ask yourself to know if you are going the right direction of pushing your idea of becoming your own boss:

1. Are you committed? Are you passionate?

According to the Small Business Association, more than half of small businesses fail within five years, for a variety of reasons. It’s important to be committed to the success and longevity of your business. There may be pitfalls and problems along the way, but if you’re dedicated to staying the course, your odds for success will greatly increase. You have to be sure that your passion is enough to keep you going through long periods of no income, no customers, and zero investments.

2. Are You Experienced? Are you willing to learn?

Lack of experience and knowledge about specific business practices are just two of the many reasons why new businesses fail soon after being put up. Make sure you’ve got the know-how and hands-on experience to operate the business you’re planning, or at least, be open to learning it well. Whether you are about to start your own project or are already a successful business owner, taking comprehensive courses will always prove valuable.

3. Are you disciplined? Can you become a leader?

You may have performed very well at your recent job, with a helpful but strict supervisor who established clear expectations. But will you be able to garner the same results if you work freely? If you want to run a startup, you have to be a leader – no ifs, ands or buts about it.

Being your own boss has its pros and cons –- do you have the courage to take the challenge? CEO SUITE provides assistance to business start-ups, see how they can help you on your plans to become a CEO – visit: www.ceosuite.com.

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Naming your business is a vital part of creating your brand. There is more to naming your business after yourself of your family name, or your favorite thing in the world. It is a need that the name of your business be something that is easy to spell, easy to recall, easy to understand — much like a name that clearly describes what your business is all about. There are so many other factors to consider too when naming your business. There’s the availability in state or country’s business records, it should also meet some of the requirements (if there are any) in the country where you are establishing your business. There is also that very important consideration very crucial not to miss, that is when you name your business and you have future goals or plans to expand internationally, it must meet the other countries’ culture, and understanding. Here are a few points to keep in mind when deciding for a business name:

1. Legal Name for Incorporation Documents

A legal name of a business refers to the official name you use when you file with for business registration and taxation documents. It appears on your legal business documents. The legal name of your business must be distinguishable from the other names of other businesses recorded in the government’s business name lists. However, although you are only allowed to have just one legal name at a time, you can still have any “doing-business-as” name/s at the same. For instance, your business’ legal name is “ABC Corporation”, you can still file for “doing-business-as” name as “Hot Spots” which you can use on your ads, signage, and other marketing collaterals.

2. Business Names should be easy to say and easy to spell.

This may seem very shallow, but having a business name that is easy to say and easy to spell does a whole lot. It does have a lot to do with consumer recall. If your nature of business is auto supply and you name it Oto Sooplys and Repair, and you are talking to a friend about it over the phone. After your phone call, your friend goes looking for you on the Internet and couldn’t find you because you actually have a differently and difficult spelled business name.

3. Advisable to name your business in accordance to its nature.

It is not a very good idea to name your business from some word you think is cool which totally doesn’t have to do anything with your business. You will be making your business loose potential clients just by trying to explain what your business offers, what it means and what you can actually do for them.

4. Name Reservation on Government Business Records is sensible.

If your preferred name is not reserved in the government records, it remains available for anyone else. You can reserve your preferred name to protect your right to use it — usually for a certain period of time only, and then you are required to renew protection for it for a minimum cost. While your name reservation is in effect, any other business cannot use the name you’ve reserved. This is a wise decision to do even if your business in not yet operational, or still just a wild imagination because it helps prevent other companies from forming under, qualifying under, reserving, registering, or changing their name to your reserved name.

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GROWING YOUR BUSINESS IN ASIA WITH CEO SUITE OFFICES

IReportCNN.com on September 24, 2015 published an article on “Why You Should Expand Your Business in Asia Today” and sites these four major reasons why you should expand your business Asia:

1. A rapidly developing environment

2. An untapped market of enormous population

3. A malleable working atmosphere

4. An advanced infrastructure

Expanding your business in Asia would be easy if you work with experts in the office solutions industry like CEO SUITE – the only one-stop Serviced Office provider run by multi-cultural industry experts in Asia. CEO SUITE lends more than 200 years of combined industry experience to find the right solutions for each business. Our tailored business service solutions can help quickly establish your business in Asia.

CEO SUITE has a network of 18 prestigious business centers in 9 major Central Business District locations in 8 countries in Asia. It offers world-class, elegantly designed executive office suites, fully-equipped meeting rooms with breathtaking views of the city, ‘five-star hotel’ standard reception area, a VIP business lounge, a service area for document printing, scanning and photocopying; business café with pantry facilities; and high bandwidth Internet WIFI access and modern telephone system. Moreover, CEO SUITE provides customized services for businesses of every size – from business set-up requirements, virtual offices (use of a professional business address for company registration and branding); receptionist and secretarial services; accounting and finance services; HR and recruitment services; I.T. support services; to business expansion support.

Let us know how we can help you. Visit our website at www.ceosuite.com.

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