🎓 Caflou Business Management Academy

⚗️ Process management? It’s not rocket science! 

Process management… It sounds dreadfully technical. In fact, processes are all around us, we all manage them somehow. And we don’t need a PhD to do that. Often, even primary school or plain common sense is enough. 

🤝  Take good care of your contacts 

Or how to manage your clients so that you don’t lose money.
Contacts are without exaggeration one of the most valuable treasures you have in the company. They deserve excellent care. Do you let them have it? 

🔮 9 Small Business Management Trends to benefit from in 2023 and beyond

Did you know that there are approximately 400 million small businesses worldwide? If you’re one of these 400 million firm owners, you’re probably aware of all the challenges small businesses are facing. They have to compete with the big industry players and respond to the increasing consumer demands while staying within budget and keeping up with the latest operational requirements. To empower you with the insights you need to keep your business thriving, we’ve compiled a list of nine emerging small business trends.

📅 Enterprise Resource Planning for Small Businesses - the What, Who, and Why

Did you know that one in five small businesses fail in the first year after being founded and only 30% of small businesses survive the first decade of their existence? The reasons for small business failure may vary, but inefficient planning and allocation of resources are generally considered among the top causes. This is where enterprise resource planning (ERP) steps in. Providing small businesses with the tools they need to plan and manage their resources effectively, ERP solutions are growing in popularity and use. 

In this article, you’ll learn why small companies should consider implementing an ERP system and how they can choose the best fit for them. We’ll also discuss the industries that can best benefit from such software, so you can be sure it is the right way to go. Let’s dive right in by answering the first fundamental question.

🔥 7 Sins of Small Business Management

Running a small business is an arduous task whichever way you look at it. Competition is tough, margins are thin, and red tape is taxing. On top of all, loyal customers are hard to find and even harder to keep. To stay in the race, it’s critical to take the right management approach and avoid the seven deadly sins small businesses tend to commit. Let’s dive into the most common mistakes and the effective ways to avoid them.

Did you know that companies tend to fail due to committing the 7 sins of small businesses management? Learn how to recognize and avoid them now.

⚒️ 10 Essential Management Tools Every Small Business Needs

Irrespective of the size of your organization, managing your business can be a stressful and demanding activity. This is particularly so if you’re trying to do it by yourself, without relying on the right management tools that can make your life much easier. Business management tools are indispensable for running a successful company today. Take a look at 10 essential solutions to fuel your small business.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 7 Small Business Management Tips to Boost Employee Productivity 

Are you struggling to increase the effectiveness of your processes and boost productivity? If so, you’re not alone – this is a common challenge for small business management. Here are 7 management tips to improve employee productivity.

📚 How To Automate Business Processes: A Guide For Small Businesses 

Before automation, a small business’s options to scale were limited. You’d have to hire more personnel, invest in expensive software, and embrace more complex business processes. To an extent, this reality is still true. Scaling is tough. But thanks to business process automation (BPA), small businesses can scale more sustainably and with greater confidence. BPA isn’t a quick, easy fix, it’s a sophisticated option for small businesses looking to optimize internal processes and grow sustainably. 

So, here’s more on how to automate business processes to help your small business grow meaningfully. 

👆 The 15 Easiest Small Business Automation Opportunities

Automation has evolved from a luxury to an affordable, essential business function - which we have technological advancements to thank for. Now, even small businesses can reliably automate repetitive, mundane tasks, streamlining efficiency and empowering employees. So, are you considering small business automation? If you’re not quite sure where to start - or can’t decide which processes are ideal for automation - we can help you out. 

We’ll cover the different types of small business automation and how you can kickstart your automation journey.

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📈 How to Improve Productivity With Business Process Improvement

If you’re looking to improve your organization’s productivity, business process improvement (BPI) is an effective option. BPI helps you improve workflows, so processes are more efficient, re sponsibilities are better defined, and employees understand their role in the bigger picture.

In this article, we’ll discuss ways to improve productivity with BPI and how you can make the most of a process-efficient system. 

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🛑 6 Signs You Need a Business Management Solution

Growing a small business is a really rewarding experience, full of team spirit and innovation. Beating out the competition, getting love from customers, and gradually improving your bottom line are some of the high points. But there are also projects that need managing, deadlines to be met, budgets and finances that require monitoring, and client invoices that need to be sent (have to make payroll!). 

At some point, spreadsheets and independent software aren’t enough for your business needs. There’s too much mess, workflows aren’t integrated, and it’s difficult to track progress. So, small businesses typically reach a point where investing in a business management solution becomes necessary.

And if you suspect you’re nearing this point – or at it – read on.

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👌 Tips to Choose the Best Business Management System for Your Needs

There are many business management systems available in the market today. Selecting the best one is a big decision that can affect your entire business for many years to come. So, it's important that you choose the right system for your needs and budget. How can you navigate the crowded business management software market and keep up with the latest business management trends? In this article, you’ll find effective tips to make the right decision and implement the solution that will work best for you.

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💫 The Importance of a 360 Customer View – CRM Insights

Some consider the idea of a 360 customer view to be unattainable, and we understand why. Having a complete, holistic understanding of your customers and their sentiments and maturity stage, seems aspirational. 

But thanks to the advent of customer relationship management (CRM) software, we’ve come quite close to 360 customer views – even if we haven’t secured a full view. CRMs give businesses direct access to prospect data in real-time, provide account-level insights, and empower teams to prioritize activities based on real data. 

In this article, we’ll explore the fundamentals of establishing a 360 customer view. 

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📂 Achieving Customer-Centricity With CRM and Project Management Integration

Many businesses claim to be customer-centric, but what does that actually mean in practice?

Very simply, a business is customer-centric if it puts customers at the forefront of everything it does. So, systems and processes are designed to help serve customers better, customer feedback is collected and analyzed to drive internal change, and you’ll have a formal strategy for cultivating customer satisfaction.

As you’d expect, achieving this level of customer-centricity requires a fair bit of time and resource investment. You’ll need to put the right systems in place, nurture a customer-first culture, and leverage technology to put customers at the center of your business.

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⚔️ Business Management Software vs Project Management Software: Find the Best Solution for Your Small Business

Although there is some overlap between the functionalities of business management and project management software, the two types of solutions differ considerably in their purpose, features, and use cases. To help you distinguish between them and select the best tool to match your needs, we’ve provided a brief and clear comparison and review of their benefits, functionalities, and applications. You’ll also find examples of the best solutions designed to streamline business and project management. 

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📧 Is Email Still Relevant for Small Business Communication?

While email is no longer the only major platform for business communication, it’s still a very important one. Your email inbox hosts urgent emails, reminders and alerts, replies to important threads, and notifications from different platforms – giving you a holistic overview of what needs your attention.  

Given how useful email is, it really shouldn’t come as a surprise that the average professional spends 28% of the workweek reading, replying to, and managing them. 

Used right, email is a powerful tool not just for internal comms, but also for reaching your customers and delivering tailored experiences.

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🗳 All-in-one or Niche Software: Which is Best for Small Businesses?

SaaS and software, in general, have evolved to a point where you’ll find a tool for nearly every significant pain point. But the growing number of specialised tools hasn’t made all-in-one solutions obsolete, because they offer a single, unified experience.

There isn’t a universally “best” way to build your tech stack; instead, you need to consider how your business operates and what your needs are before committing to one or more solutions. And that’s what we’re going to help you out with, in this article. We’re going to compare niche software with all-in-one solutions and explore which tools are best for different businesses. 

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