Inflation vs business opportunities

Inflation vs Business Opportunities:

          Inflation is a quantitative measure of the rate at which the average price level of a basket of selected goods and services in an economy increases over a period of time. It is the constant rise in the general level of prices where a unit of currency buys less than it did in prior periods. [1] 

 As prices rise, a single unit of currency loses value as it buys fewer goods and services. This loss of purchasing power impacts the general cost of living for the common public which ultimately leads to a deceleration in economic growth.

Effects of Inflation on Businesses:

1. Consumer Purchasing:
 Rapidly rising prices will cause consumers to  “stay away in droves”.  There are ways for businesses to plan for inflation to reduce the chances of revenue loss. Gradually increasing prices will prevent a sudden price hike

2. Inventory Costs:

Rapidly rising prices not only affect the price consumers pay, but they also affect the cost businesses have to pay for materials and inventory. When replacement inventory costs more than the inventory you just sold, it can lead to inventory shortages.

3. Price Changes

When service and product prices fluctuate, businesses have to spend money printing new menus or changing price tags to list the correct prices. These costs are called ‘menu costs’, and they affect brick and mortar businesses most heavily.

4. Borrowing

Early in the inflation cycle, banks are actively expanding their loan portfolio as the easy money policies of the government kick the economy into overdrive. During this artificial “boom” many businesses succumb to the lure of easy money and think that getting a business loan is a good idea. 

5. Investment

For businesses hit hard by high inflation, upgrading outdated electronics and equipment becomes nigh impossible. The office might benefit from a new computer, and a remodel might appeal to customers, but those kinds of upgrades aren’t going to be possible.

6. Employee Wages

One of the major costs of doing business for most companies is employee wages. Typically, employees suffer more than companies due to inflation.In addition, inflation gives businesses an opportunity to reduce the cost of employee wages. Employees won’t agree to a pay cut, but by increasing employee wages by a rate lower than the inflation rate businesses can lower their employee wages expenses.

7. Foreign Exchange

           As inflation occurs, the purchasing power of the dollar falls,  relative to other currencies. If the dollar falls in value, costs for international purchases increase. 

References:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/inflation.asp [1]
https://inflationdata.com/articles/2017/06/07/effects-of-inflation-on-businesses/

Annoyances Customer complaints

Top 5 annoyances customers complain about and the possible solutions to address it.

Every organisation desires to increase its customer base and never want to lose them at any cost. It is important to maintain good customer relations at all times. In research, it is found that, for any big organisations or consulting firm, 80% of their revenue comes from their previous customers. So if we lose them, it will affect the growth of the organisation.

There are some reasons why customers usually feel annoyed about every time. This article explains them in detail.

Top five annoyances customers of my industry complain about and the solutions Navitas Professional Services offers are the following:

Unlimited call transfers or holds:

This is one of the important reasons why customer feel annoys about. Keeping the customer on hold for a long time than usual and wasting the time of customer really is not good. If the business grows, we need to increase the customer service team so that the customers will be quickly served and their time is saved.

In addition to this, the customers should be provided designated contact numbers to their issues instead of transferring calls to another number.

The customer felt Un-welcome: 

One of the other main reasons for the annoyed customers is not showing welcome gestures like greetings or smile. When the customer arrives at the enquiry centre or near to the staff member, the staff should address them with a greeting and have a smiley face. Customers should not be waited for a long time to get attention from the staff. It is always a good idea to have at least two service desks. Just in case if the store is busy, they can use both and do service fast.

Responding to Customer complaints:

In order to increase customer satisfaction, every organisation should respond to customer complaints. In this modern age, customers may complain in any mode. It may be through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or email. The organisation should respond to the complaint as soon as possible and ask for the details and resolve the issue.

Uninformed staff:

It is really unfortunate if the customers ask a question and the staff don't know the answer or don't know who should they address to. Every organisation should train its employees about their work and duties to be performed. Regular training sessions and meetings are to be conducted often. 

Empathy:

The staff and customer service agents should show empathy towards the customer. The staff should listen to customer complaints and show empathy. This is the best way to control an angry customer. Instead of saying the customer that it is not my issue or it is not under my control, the staff should listen to the problem and suggest an appropriate solution or address them to the designated person in the team. It is always a good idea to say sorry if there is anything wrong.

Organising Meetings

Organising Meetings

Importance of attendance of Meetings:

The primary importance of a well-organized meeting is cost efficiency. Therefore, when meetings are thoroughly planned and organized, employees don’t have to waste time. A well-organized meeting also effectively allows management to address any pressing issues succinctly, informatively, and objectively. 

1. We can collaborate better and share ideas.

2. To build and strengthen the team.

3. Meetings are a great way to resolve issues.

4. Helps to improve the creativity of the employees

Ways to Improve Meeting Effectiveness:

Stay on Topic

For a meeting to be effective and efficient, it is critical to ensure all participants stay on topic. This can be accomplished in at least three ways.

First, the presenter can ensure the discussion does not stray from the agenda items and adheres to the allotted time frame. 

Second, the presenter can frequently remind the attendees of the meeting objectives, progress, and items yet to be addressed. 

Third, the meeting organizer can reiterate critical discussion points and relate them back to agenda items when necessary.

Maintain Attention

In order for attendees to benefit from the meeting, all participants must be actively involved and attentive throughout the entire meeting. Regardless of team size, this can primarily be accomplished by allowing the participants to lead the meeting through the agenda items and discussion, while the meeting organizer simply guides them through the process. Second, the presenter can acknowledge and reinforce positive behaviours to encourage additional repetition and involvement. 

Breaks:  

A 10-minute break should be provided each hour to allow attendees to get situated, handle other business, and regroup their thoughts.

How to Run successful meetings?:

1. Be on time

2. Keep it short

3. Follow up

Common Complaints of Business Meetings:

Complaint #1: One or two people do all the talking

The solution: During an hour-long meeting, it's unrealistic that all participants will have equal floor time. But there are simple things you can do before, during, and after a meeting to ensure the conversation isn’t dominated by one or two people.

At the beginning of the meeting, clarify that you want broad participation and tell participants that you won't move on from a topic until everyone has had a chance to make a comment or ask a question. 

During the meeting, ensure no one is taking the conversation hostage. If someone speaks too often or interrupts others, ask the person to hold that thought, then suggest someone else share their ideas. And if someone still manages to dominate the conversation, let them know after the meeting that you'd like participation to be more balanced in the future.

Complaint #2: The meeting should have been an email

The solution: If the majority of your meeting is spent on updates that could have been communicated via email, you have a problem. Respectfully voice this concern to the meeting organizer and offer to craft an agenda that prioritizes "topics that require the thinking and alignment of the group,".

To plan a productive meeting, ask your team which topics need to be discussed or what the team needs to learn. Articulate the desired outcome of the meeting and predict the amount of time each discussion topic will take.

Complaint #3: The meetings are redundant

The solution: When nothing gets done between meetings, you end up having the same conversations and setting the same goals over and over. Send out a summary after each meeting within the hour or by the end of the day clearly articulating next steps. Make sure someone is following up to track each person's progress on the assignment they were given and aim for an 85% completion rate. If you aren’t meeting your goal, come together to decide how to get back on track