A marketing consultant can work alongside you and your business to help you grow.

Thinking you have everything under control in the running of your business can feel great. However, where is your growth in sales? Do you have a marketing strategy in place to bring in new customers? A marketing consultant can help you identify areas for improvement in your business strategy and incorporate tried and tested methods to really grow your existing customer base.

If you’ve identified the fact that you need a little help with marketing your business online, hiring an expert marketing consultant is the way to go. By choosing the right one who can bring a ton of experience and knowledge to your business, you’ll obviously gain a lot of value out of it.

Digital marketing consultants are usually experts in all areas of online marketing. They’ll have a significant number of years’ experience in the industry, meaning they’re more than qualified to help you gain great results for your business.

So, why should you hire a marketing consultant? Here are 5 advantages of getting expert external help:

A fresh pair of eyes.

Hiring a professional who knows the marketing industry inside out is a crucial component in improving your online marketing strategy. A consultant will be able to come in and look over your current efforts, highlighting areas that could be worked on or amended. An internal staff member will know too much about your business’ strategy and goals to be able to look at it from an outside perspective.

Expert knowledge.

As we mentioned earlier, a marketing consultant comes with a knowledgeable background, but some will also ‘specialise’ in a certain field. For example, you may find a digital marketing consultant specialising in SEO or content marketing, and depending on the areas you’re lacking in, choosing a specific consultant will enable you to focus on a specific area and use your budget and time more wisely.

Time saving.

Hiring an expert to help with your marketing will save you the time and effort of researching what to do and implement your findings. Consultants will also have practiced different methods of marketing over the years. They can share with you which methods can really work for your particular business and which you should steer clear of.

As you’ll be targeting specific areas, you’ll be spending less time thinking and trying to pinpoint exactly what you need to work on, and more time focusing on the problems you’re facing. This can prevent those small issues from being huge ones later down the line. The time saving aspect will also save you money in the long run.

Increase your conversion rate.

When you’ve worked with your marketing consultant to come up with a new strategy, next comes the implementation. Implementing your tried and tested strategy will help you to see an increase in conversion rates and sales.

Sales matter. Without them, you wouldn’t be able to keep your business afloat. A consultant will help you to convert visitors to your site into genuine, paying customers. They’ll be able to monitor your efforts too and identify things that your customer really responds well to.

Deadlines.

Running a business is always dependant on deadlines, but where marketing is concerned, it can be very difficult to force yourself to stick to them. Surely the day-to-day processes are the most important thing?

In fact, without a marketing strategy in place, you’ll minimise the chance of finding any new customers or holding onto existing ones. A marketing consultant can help you put those deadlines and targets into place to ensure these are met in good time, even alongside the running of your business.

Hire a marketing consultant to help your business thrive.

Take these tips on board to secure a better marketing strategy and to see a more positive return on investment. Have you used a marketing consultant in the past? Which areas of marketing are you struggling with at the moment? Share your experience with us!

This post was in collaboration with Bigfoot Digital, digital marketing consultants in the UK. For more information about their services or to get in touch with a member of their team, visit their website: https://www.bigfootdigital.co.uk.

Whether as a way to diversify investments or for political reasons, more people than ever are applying for second passports. According to recent figures, there has been a 45% spike in the number of second passport applications in the last year, predominantly in European and Caribbean nations. But although it is partly high-net-worth-individuals (HNWIs) who are responsible for these figures—the Guardian notes that prices range from $100,000 to $2.5 million—the real beneficiaries of citizenship by investment (CBI) are the countries themselves.

After all, as CS Global Partners note, applying for a second citizenship involves a substantial financial contribution to that territory’s “society, the economy, and other state interests”. These countries often use the money they receive via CBI programs to encourage tourists to visit, often through construction and redevelopment of hotels, which in turn creates new employment opportunities and generates renewed demand for further investment.

These are most often in sectors such as leisure, entertainment, and food and drink, but there are other areas where individuals with a second passport can provide economic benefits to nations who run CBI schemes.

Investments in the real estate sector

Much like how they can provide money and employment opportunities to the hotel and hospitality sector, CBI programs also often obligate applicants to invest in real estate in exchange for a second citizenship. Indeed, some CBI schemes allow applicants to invest in real estate in the country, which can provide a wealth of opportunities for interested parties.

Setting up a business in a country which runs a CBI program can help boost economic growth there, getting a nation in on the ground floor of startups and emerging sectors alike. This will then not only increase job prospects for its citizens but increase the country’s reputation abroad as a trailblazing hub for SMEs.

The best citizenship by investment programs

• Kitts & Nevis

One of the most well-regarded CBI programs currently operating, the two-island nation of St. Kitts & Nevis, is putting the money of those with second passports to very good use. According to BDaily, the tourism sector contributed to 26.8% of the country’s 2017 GDP, and much of this would have been made impossible without CBI, which has helped improve investments into infrastructure, including a new Ritz Carlton hotel.

• Dominica

The CBI program of Dominica is one of the most financially viable available, costing only $100,000, Dominica’s CBI program is consequently one of the most popular available. It was also ranked the best in the world by the Financial Times’ PWM report – CBI Index. The program also provides visa-free access to over 130 countries, including Hong Kong and the entire European Union.

• Lucia

St. Lucia has a world-class tourist industry  and a thriving entrepreneurial scene, with government-funded incentives to bring local and international SMEs to the country. Many of the companies involved with these programs are already prospering outside of their home country, and many of these success stories would have been impossible without the financial contributions provided by the CBI program.

When your business needs an injection of cash (and what business doesn’t, at one point or another?) there are two potential routes you can follow. One is debt financing, where you borrow the money you need.

The other is equity financing, where you sell a stake in the company. The latter unfortunately dilutes your ownership, and of course your share of the profits, so we’re going to concentrate on debt financing.

What is debt financing?

As already stated, debt financing involves borrowing the money you need to power business growth. However, if this immediately makes you think of bank loans, think again.

Certainly, a conventional term loan is one avenue for debt financing, and in many instances it’s the right route to take. However, the business finance market has proliferated in recent years with the emergence of alternative lenders, so here are some of the options on the table.

A term loan

This is what most of us think of when we hear the word “loan”: you borrow an agreed amount of money and pay it back, plus interest, over an agreed period.

Line of credit

Acting like an overdraft, a business line of credit allows you to borrow and repay at will against an agreed credit limit. The flexibility is unrivalled, and whilst interest rates tend to be high you will only pay when you are actually using the facility.

Credit card

A business credit card is once again a fairly expensive way to borrow, but as with a line of credit will allow you to borrow and repay at will.

Merchant cash advance

With a merchant cash advance, you can borrow an agreed sum and repay it via a fixed percentage of your daily credit card sales. The advantage is obvious: you will never have to make a significant fixed payment during a quiet period for the business. The main disadvantage is once again the cost, as this is a notoriously expensive way to borrow.

Invoice factoring or discounting

With invoice factoring or discounting, you can borrow against your invoices as soon as you issue them, with repayment being made when your customers pay you.

This means you effectively get paid immediately and can revolutionise your cash flow; opt for factoring and you can even outsource all collections activity to the finance company.

What are the advantages of debt financing?

The big advantage of debt financing is that you don’t have to give away a stake in your business, and your lender has no control over the way in which it is run. Allow a business angel or other equity investor to take a stake and you could find yourself having to contend with a quite different vision of the company’s future.

What’s more, any interest you pay on your borrowing can be fully offset against corporation tax, and if you opt for a long-term loan you can spread the repayments over quite a number of years, thus reducing your monthly outgoings. Better still, if you opt for a fixed (rather than variable) interest rate loan, then you will always know how much you have to pay.

So, what are the disadvantages?

The first problem you may face is having to provide security for the loan.

Certainly, it’s possible to find unsecured finance, but this will generally require an excellent credit score and a proven track record in business. For relatively new companies, a secured loan may be the only option on the table. Whilst this significantly reduces the lender’s risk, it substantially increases yours.

With an unsecured loan, your lender would have to obtain a court order to seize your assets in the event you fail to repay; with a secured loan, they can simply take the collateral, so be extremely careful about pledging personal assets such as your home.

Secondly, of course, you will need to budget for the repayments, which will significantly reduce your free cash flow and could create problems further down the line. However, as with anything in business, you have to speculate to accumulate – and the rewards can be significant. I would suggest looking at this article on calculating your DSCR to ensure you can afford the loan repayments before leaping in.

What can debt financing do for me?

Take out debt finance when you need it and deploy the money wisely, and you could take your business to the next level. Here are just a few of the things you could with a loan:

Improve your cash flow

Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business, and virtually every company hits a cash flow crisis at one point or another. In fact, cash flow can be particularly problematical for businesses that are profitable and fast-growing.

This might sound perverse, but they will have to purchase raw materials, and potentially take on new people and equipment, to serve major new customers in advance of getting paid. Having a cash cushion on hand can make the difference between staying in business and going to the wall.

Invest in a marketing campaign

One almost universal truth in business is that people are not going to beat a path to your door to use your product or service. If you want to join the big league, you will need to launch a marketing campaign, and these can be notoriously expensive. But by financing the right campaign you can achieve a step change in your company’s performance.

Hire new people

Any company is only as good as its people, and if you want to take on the most prestigious customers in your sector then you will need the very best people to service them. Of course, the best people tend to be the most expensive, hence the need to borrow.

Purchase new equipment

Similarly, it’s important to have the best equipment on hand, and once again there’s every chance that you will need to borrow in order to invest.

Move to larger premises or open additional offices

If you’re running a business where customers come to see you, then you’ll know that first impressions really count. Getting the right premises or opening a network of local or overseas offices can set your business on a very positive route.

Refinance existing debt

Finally, if you already have debts, taking out additional finance may allow you to consolidate them into a single, lower monthly payment, thus freeing up cash flow. As an added bonus, if your business has developed significantly since you last sought finance, you may be able to achieve a much lower interest rate.

A few tips when you’re seeking debt finance

First and foremost, remember to talk to the full range of lenders, as banks and alternative lenders apply quite different acceptance criteria and tend to have very different application processes.

Secondly, consider the possibilities of all the finance options above, and make sure that you understand their relative costs. For this reason, it is vital to find out how much you will pay back in total, including any interest. A simple interest rate won’t communicate this, and to make life more confusing some loans have their costs expressed as a factor rate instead.

Once you have all the options on the table, you can take an informed decision and take a vital step in propelling your business to the next level.

Written by Carl Faulds

As Managing Director of Cashsolv, Carl offers advice and support to overcome cash flow problems and identify possible underlying problems that can be addressed to ensure a positive future for your business.

During more recent years, cities have seen more commuters than ever, particularly with the introduction of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) companies such as Uber and Lyft. This has meant that already busy cities are becoming more and more congested with traffic, making travelling more time-consuming and expensive.

This is not just in the sense of the cost of private commuting and parking, but also follows into the rising costs of transportation and expenses for both the company and the individual. Mark McKenna, fleet insurance broker for Bluedrop Services, updates us on the impact of Mobility as a Service on today’s businesses.

The introduction of Smart Cities

As a result of the increasing traffic and expenses of commuting, the concept of ‘Smart Cities’ has begun to emerge. This involves a wider scale of car sharing, access to renting bikes, scooters and the introduction of services such as Uber.

These have all led to a wider adoption of Mobility as a Service (Maas). The idea of renting transportation when you need it rather than having a need for your own private car, at least in larger and more populated and congested cities, is growing in popularity.

MaaS as a developing tool

MaaS is not unheard of, in fact, particularly around Europe this service is becoming more predominant. It’s not just Uber, but countries like Switzerland and Finland are already developing MaaS systems to introduce not only car rental services but also maintenance, insurance, tolls, bike sharing, taxi services, train services and parking within cities all within a subscription, pay as you go or app services.

In addition to this, larger car companies such as BMW, Mercedes Benz, Ford and Porsche also provide car subscription services to companies and individuals.

The growth of MaaS and its impact on business vehicle management

With MaaS continuing to grow at such an exponential rate and the introduction of Smart Cities, there is an opportunity to have fewer vehicles on the road. This not only provides economical and environmental opportunities but also creates scope for businesses to find more affordable commuting situations and minimise wait times across industries worldwide.

The issue is that these sorts of systems will require a management system that needs more than an app. There will be an aptitude of data and intelligence needed to co-ordinate this type of system in a centralised manner.

From fleet management to mobility management

For business fleets, MaaS will likely be the norm for their operations in 20 years. By 2020 the growth will be inevitable which will transform fleet management as we know it.

Despite this, due to lack of investment in public transport services there will still be a huge position for private mobility services in the future markets. This presents new opportunities for fleet management companies which already face a revolution in their services. Emerging markets, cost pressures, technology, government regulations and technology in manufacturing will have always provided new challenges for the industry. Yet, moving into new mobility management systems could help to revolutionise the industry.

Diversity and opportunity

Instead of seeing these changes as a threat, the fleet industry has already embraced the need for diversity and seen the opportunity that MaaS could have for them.  Fleet Managers will be looking at a mobility budget as a whole, as opposed to focussing on their internal fleet costs. Overall it will be about saving time, money and our carbon footprint.

Whilst there is already evidence of MaaS systems, the fleet industry could potentially spearhead the move towards it by embracing the knowledge they already possess. This is everything from automated systems, access to date, cost advantages to their advanced skills and knowledge in co-ordination, scheduling and accounting. Not only can they embrace their expertise, but by utilising the use of mobile platforms it can give them extra brain power putting them in a strong position.

Therefore, it’s not about a threat to the industry but about a paradigm shift and providing new opportunities where the fleet industry can enhance their position and expand into new areas.

With fleet input, MaaS can help to improve quality of life for individuals, help companies save money, encourage alternative transport services which can help the environment whilst also providing the data and analysis to constantly provide new ways for improvement.

Autonomous vehicles, car-sharing and public transport is not a threat to the fleet industry, in fact it is pushing them in the right direction to become an industry that will adapt and provide a more sustainable way of transport for the future.