JEM Fulfilment and Marketing Services Ltd. Blog

How to win at selling on Amazon with these tips

2014-12-22T08:04:00.001-08:00

Amazon is a big, baffling ecommerce site that can leave most businesses confused at the thought of selling on their global platform. The good thing to know is that if you’re in this predicament you’re not alone. Many small businesses want to jump at the opportunity to take advantage of selling to the many millions of customers that Amazon attracts daily. Amazon offers plenty of documentation that can walk you through the process of setting up your business on their virtual territory. However the amount of literature provided is great, but would be way too time consuming for anyone to digest. So that’s where this article comes in handy. Below you can feast your eyes upon simple tips that can streamline your Amazon business, saving you time and money. #WinningSituation

First- Choose your how you want to sell on Amazon

Sellers have two options when it comes to deciding how they want to partner with Amazon.

The first option is listing your products and you fulfil those orders. When you sell your products, you ship the product to the buyer. The buyer pays Amazon and Amazon pays you, after fees have been deducted. Should there be any customer service enquiries this would fall upon the seller to manage and resolve.

The second option is listing your products and having your orders fulfilled by Amazon (also known as FBA). In this partnership the seller sends products directly to Amazon’s fulfilment centres for storage. As orders come in, Amazon will use their distribution system to ship the item to the buyer and also handle the customer service if returns are necessary. But wait, this sounds groovy and all, but this services comes at a price. The fulfilment by Amazon comes with higher fees for selling.

Or….

I said you had to choose from two options. Well I lied. You actually have a third. Set up your business on Amazon, list your products and then outsource the rest to a fulfilment company. This way you have more control on your inventory, customer relationships, postal dispatch services to name a few.

Second- The Basics!

Sadly, there is no way around this bit. Buying on Amazon is a tad bit different than selling. So you will need to have a browse in the Amazon’s Seller’s Resources. My suggestion would be first to get your head around the lay of the land on the backend of their selling platform. Then take a peek at the FAQs. It’s amazing how much time anyone can save by just going directly to the FAQs.

Third- Research the Competition on Amazon

Before you start listing your products investigate what type of competition you’re up against on Amazon. Amazon attracts millions of customers which makes it a gold mine for sellers. So be sure to see if other sellers are selling your same products. Pay attention to the prices of those products and what kind of delivery options they offer. This way you will be armed and ready to take on your competitors without the stress and frustration. Keep in mind seller’s feedback scores are what make and break your competition, not just prices and delivery options.

Forth- Advertise and Market Your Goodies

Amazon hosts millions of sellers which makes it tough for beginning sellers to strike it rich at first. You will need to boost your presence and let the virtual communities know you exist. Don’t just think you can set up shop and expect to make it big. Yes, you may get a few sales here and there, but with advertising and marketing you can easily jump start your revenues. Thankfully Amazon offers an advertising program which is similar to the Pay Per Click strategy of Google Adwords. This service allows you to target specific customer types, leveraging Amazon’s high traffic volumes.

Other Options:

• Google Adwords

- Create ads that target your preferred audience, keywords and countries.

• Social Media Activities

- Build up your brand on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc… Use these channels to drive traffic to your products.

• Social Media Advertising

- Use Facebook’s and Twitter’s advertising channels to broadcast your products to the masses instead of relying on hashtags and the slow drip feed of social visitors who happen to stumble upon your social activities. Let these advertising tools work for you.

Fifth- Inventory Management

Once your shop is off the ground and running, it will probably be one of the happiest moments in your virtual life. As every order comes in, you get excited, bells are ringing and the bank bells are buzzing. With all this excitement you can easily lose track of what you’re selling, where and what has been sold. The last thing you want to encounter is a disgruntled customer for having to wait longer than expected for his order to arrive, due to stock not being accounted for. Use a spreadsheet, use the Amazon inventory monitoring tool, or just let a fulfilment house take on that stress.

Sixth- Have a Rainy Day Fund

When things get moving you must be prepared for the unexpected. Setting aside additional funds will help ease the stress during these times.

Seventh- Photos and Product Copy

Prior Planning Promotes Proper Performance, Presentation, Passion, Peak Performance.

The nine P’s of success above will prove to be your guiding light if you allow them to be. Let’s face it, you’re thinking about joining the ranks of the other Amazon sellers. So why wait till the moment you wish to list your products to take photos, edit photos, write copy and such? Once you have finished your research that you’ve completed as stated in the third tip, start writing copy. Use your competitors as a benchmark. Take some photos of your products and keep in mind of the Amazon photo requirements. Be sure to keep comprehensive records of descriptions and images of your products. Organisation will be the key to your success!

Notes:

• Amazon allows you to post up to six photos as part of each listing.

• Pure white backgrounds are preferred.

• Photos are not permitted to contain additional test, graphics, or inset images.

• Dimensions:

- Minimum- 200 x 200 pixels

- Maximum- 2000 x 2000 pixels

- Image resolution: 72 pixels per inch

Eighth- Partner with a Fulfilment Provider

Let’s paint a clear picture. Amazon is a beast, both as a shopping platform and fulfilment provider. If you disagree, did you catch in the news how they are testing drones to deliver orders? A part from TGIF restaurant group no other companies that I am aware of use drones. Now for the ‘but,’ Amazon fulfilment does look pretty easy as a one stop shop for sellers but it doesn’t come cheap. So don’t let Amazons fulfilment prevent you from being an Amazon selling success.

Start out small, by doing your own fulfilment processing. This way you will understand and really appreciate the process of filling your customer’s orders. Then once you’re to a point that you cannot succeed on your own, call up a Fulfilment House. Fulfilment houses are an extension of your business, operating under your terms and conditions. By utilising a fulfilment house for your order processing, storage, customer service services you can save on your overhead costs.

Don’t let Amazon imprison your business to the confines of their business model. Like the saying goes ‘think outside the box,’ and partner with a fulfilment provider.

Contact our team at JEM.

Enquire today, and discover how we can help

Please Call 01483 20444

Read how JEM can optimise your ecommerce success.

By Erik Miller
JEM Marketing & Fulfilment Services Ltd.

The Invisible Link- Between your business and its customers
www.j-e-m.com

18 Facts Proving Why Customer Service will either Make or Break Your Business

2014-12-10T05:05:00.004-08:00

Today’s technology is making our world more and more transparent, giving consumers more power and control in our current market place.

The birth of Social Media has been an influential factor in this power switch. Today’s consumers are now fortified and armed with the latest mobile technology, assisting them in their shopping endeavours.

Our society is blessed with the ability to have access to a galaxy of intuitive applications from product price comparing, product reviews all the way to applications that allow you to purchase directly from the app without ever needing to leave your office or home. This technology is exciting and extremely useful for those of us who have little time between juggling home life and a chaotic work schedule. However, on the other than this technology makes it increasingly harder for businesses to stay competitive.

Below Erik Miller, JEM Marketing & Fulfilment Services Ltd. Web & Business Development Manager has scoured the internet and created an in-depth list of facts, to demonstrate why Customer Service is extremely important if a business wants to be successful.

Quick Facts:

-82% of consumers say the number one factor that leads to a great customer service experience is having their issues resolved quickly (Survey: What Customers Expect When it Comes to Customer Service, LivePearson 2013).

-62% of organisations view customer experience provided through contact centres as a competitive differentiator (Global Contact Center Survey, Deloitte 2013).

-By 2020, customer experience will overtake price and product as they key brand differentiator (Customers 2020 Report, Walker 2014).

-83% of consumers require some degree of customer support while making an online purchase (Survey: What Customers Expect When it Comes to Customer Service, LivePearson 2013).

-A Customer is 4 times more likely to defect to a competitor if the problem is service-related than price or product related (Bain & Company, 2012).

-Companies that prioritise the customer experience generate 60% higher profits than their competitors (Leading on the Edge of Chaos, Emmet Murphy & Mark Murphy).

-A 2% increase in customer retention has the same effect as decreasing costs by 10% (Leading on the Edge of Chaos, Emmet Murphy & Mark Murphy).

-For every customer complaint there are 26 other unhappy customers who have remained silent (Lee Resource Inc.).

-91% of consumers expect to receive consistent information over multiple customer contact channels (Synthetix, “7 out of 10 people think online customer service will dominate over traditional call-centres within a decade,” 2012).

-89% of consumers are ‘more satisfied’ when they get answers online quickly (Synthetix, “7 out of 10 people think online customer service will dominate over traditional call-centres within a decade,” 2012).

-1 in 5 consumers prefer online chat over any other communication method (LogMain and the e-tailing group, “Fourth Annual BoldChat Live Chat Eﬀectiveness,” 2012).

-51% of consumers are more likely to purchase from a website if they could get answers via chat (Survey: What Customers Expect When it Comes to Customer Service, LivePearson 2013).

-71% of consumer are more satisfied with live chat compared to email and phone combine (61%) (Survey: What Customers Expect When it Comes to Customer Service, LivePearson 2013).

-37% of consumers abandon their shopping baskets due having a question and being unable to find the answer (Survey: What Customers Expect When it Comes to Customer Service, LivePearson 2013).

-50% of smartphone users want to resolve their issue on a smartphone app (SpeechCycle and Echo Research Study).

-According to a CEI Survey, 86% of buyers will pay more for a better customer experience, but only 1% of customers feel that vendors consistently meet their expectations (Forbes, 2013).

-More than 60% of consumers are influenced by other consumer’s comments (Social Media for Customer Service, ClickFox, 2011).

-It takes 12 positive experiences to make up for one unresolved negative experience (Understanding Customers,” Ruby Newell-Legner).

Contact our team at JEM.

Enquire today, and discover how we can help

Please Call 01483 20444

Read how JEM can optimise your ecommerce success.

By Erik Miller

JEM Marketing & Fulfilment Services Ltd.
The Invisible Link- Between your business and its customers
www.j-e-m.com

Fulfilment for The Developing Small Business

2014-12-10T04:28:00.001-08:00

Let’s Meet Small Business Owner Tim

Tim is an ambitious entrepreneur. Eight months ago Tim decided to start a business on the side in his living room. He began an online shop selling board games. Not just any board games, but traditional children’s games made of wood. Tim sources these games from UK manufacturers.

To get things moving Tim bought a domain name and purchased a simple website builder package through the same company he bought his domain. Tim began selling four different games but as his business started to develop and the social chatter began to take place his product range grew from four games to now currently ten. When his range grew so did his stock quantities. His living room became his work shop and storage facility.

Within months Tim began to see his business take off. Tim was receiving 10-30 orders a day from his website. The growth of his business started to take a toll on his work and personal life. The volumes of orders began to eat his time outside of work. He was a one man band. Every order that came in, he personally processed, packed and shipped. Tim understood early on the seriousness of customer satisfaction. Tim made it a point to always respond to customer enquiries as soon as he can. This led him to slowly lose focus at work.

Tim was now in the crossroads. He started a business to make additional money on the side, but never considered it to be his main focus. However, now he is finding little to no time to manage his business, work priorities and his personal life effectively.

Out Growing Your Small Business Process

Tim is not the only victim of his success. When you run a small business, there are many factors that go into its growth. Being able to hold and manage stock as well as shipping your products are major catalysts for development, because it allows you to sell to so many more people. Processing orders efficiently will grow your customer base. In order to pack and ship successfully there are many variables to consider.

Scalable Fulfilment Services

JEM Marketing and Fulfilment has multiple onsite secure and modern storage facilities. Our storage facilities have the capacity to store your inventory which can be quickly picked, packed and shipped within minutes of an order being placed. Our staff picks, packs and ships thousands of customised orders a day to locations around the world.

JEM uses its very own bespoke fulfilment software that was developed and is maintained in house with our own programmers. This allows us to provide variety of bespoke solutions that most fulfilment companies cannot offer. We have the flexibility to customise reports, connect to ecommerce platforms, and customise inventory control options. JEM is able to offer traditional response fulfilment with tomorrow’s technology.

JEM also offers clients access to our post optimisation services so that clients can pick the most effective delivery method for their business. We’ve partnered with many top shipping companies to get our clients the best rates and services possible.

The Light For Tim

Tim can now relax and maintain his growing small business with the help of the services provided by JEM. Tim has now let go of his time consuming administrative duties and currently focuses on growth related activities. JEM currently manages Tim’s stock, order processing, ecommerce platform and customer support. Tim can now enjoy the fruits of his labours, enjoy his personal life and maintain his focus at work.

Does this story sound familiar?

Contact our team at JEM.

Enquire today, and discover how we can help

Please Call 01483 20444

Read how JEM can optimise your ecommerce success.

By Erik Miller

JEM Marketing & Fulfilment Services Ltd.
The Invisible Link- Between your business and its customers
www.j-e-m.com

JEM Warehouse Clear Out Sale

2014-11-05T05:36:00.000-08:00

Mark Your Calendars for Friday November 21st, 9:30am- 5pm

JEM is holding a warehouse clear out sale on site in Cranleigh. With JEM offering reader offers and mail order services, they often get products left over from an offer. This allows them to offer products at a much lower price than their original RRP.

What you will find...

End of Line Stock
- Branded household products
  - Garden
  - Gadgets
  - Gift ideas
  - Kitchenware
  - Car Related Items

Viners, La Cuisine, Kitchencraft, Cutlery, BBQs, Chimineas, Delbanco, Garden Trading and much more!

Cash & Card payments accepted

Wholesalers Welcome

Larger discounts offered for bulk purchases

Location:

JEM House Littlemead Industrial Estate

Alfold Road, Cranleigh

GU6 8ND

Enquiries: # 01483 204444

eCommerce Fulfilment Solutions by JEM

2014-10-01T05:46:00.001-07:00

Online Trading Made Easy

Regardless if you’re just starting your own online retail store, eBay & Amazon shop, or you’re looking to accelerate growth, our experts can provide you with years’ of hands-on experience of delivering bespoke eCommerce solutions across Europe.

Our eCommerce Solutions Include:

• Real Time Payment Processing

• Full Service Web eCommerce Store

-We can develop and maintain a web eCommerce store to your specifications

-We can integrate our eCommerce platform with your existing website. Which will allow you to start trading with all major credit and debit cards. JEM manages all transactions for you, leaving you free to focus on your core activities for growth.

The benefits of our eCommerce solutions are aimed to provide you and your business complete control transparency that include:

• Request Controls

• Order Confirmation

• Order Transaction History

• Stock Availability

• Image View Reporting

Additionally, you have the ability to use our eCommerce fulfilment service for internal stock orders within companies, enabling staff to order point of sale material and other marketing collateral for themselves and their customers.

Common items, JEM has fulfilled for our eCommerce clients

Beauty Products & Health Supplements
Clothing & Apparel
Toys
Dry Food
Perfumes & Colognes
Medical Equipment
Books, CD’s and DVD’s
Consumer Electronics
Homeware & Gardening Products
Product Samples
Free Literature (catalogues, brochures, leaflets, etc…)
And much much more

Enquire today, and discover how we can help

Please Call 01483 20444

By Erik Miller

JEM Marketing & Fulfilment Services Ltd.
The Invisible Link- Between your business and its customers
www.j-e-m.com

Pyschology of Colour

2014-09-29T04:22:00.000-07:00

The Internet is a platform for the entire world to use as a research resource, communication tool, storage medium as well as many other services and solutions to accommodate our everyday needs. Additionally, the Internet is a virtual galaxy where we are all safe from those pesky persistent sales people. So with that said, it is important to understand that the Internet is both a visual and physiological medium.

Generally as you utilise words to convey what needs be, colours could be utilised as an outflow also and are a dialect all alone. The foundation colour of your site, the shade of your header, the colour of your content, features and sub-features and so forth can all have a mental effect on your guests.

Below is a fantastic infographic created by DEHAHS on The Psychology of Colour.

by Erik Miller
JEM Marketing & Fulfilment Services Ltd.
The Invisible Link- Between Your Business and its Customers
www.j-e-m.com

Fulfilment and E-Commerce Holiday Seasonal Advice

2014-09-15T06:33:00.000-07:00

Businesses must consider some of the obvious tasks to prepare for the e-commerce and high volume Christmas period. To reduce stress and prevent a panic situation, due to surprises from an influx of sales volumes, at this festive time of year. Here are twelve guidelines for 2014.

1. Ask.

Yes it is that simple. Just ASK your team for their views, and of course LISTEN. Get them to talk openly and feel with confidence, that their views no matter how trivial they may feel they are, are indeed heard and debated. Highlight any area that can be improved or done away with. If they use the 'R' word they are telling you that somewhere, something wasn't pre-planned properly and there is room for improvement. Listen for that word! Then act or you'll hear "I told you so" later on.

2. Review Historic Reports.

Hopefully your businesses computer or manual systems can tell you what took place in terms of throughput during the preceding year(s). By carefully analysing this against a time line, staff levels, premises space, sales seasonality of clients, and various other factors one can predict, based on planned business growth, what infrastructure is required throughout 2014 to help avoid the 'R' word.

3. Staffing levels.

Temporary staff, good temporary staff are hard to find. Find out exactly when you advertised for additional staff for the peaks of activity. Work backwards from when they became proficient in their tasks to the time you first sought them, to allow sufficient time to advertise for them. Allow for interviewing, ensuring that the person responsible for appointing new staff hasn't booked a holiday just when you need them for interviewing, selection and appointing. Allow for new candidates notice periods and such, not forgetting all the essential training and integration time required. On the job training can be a risk sometimes, it means new staff are experimenting 'live' with your valued client's projects. Have some 'blind' samples to explain and train with. Review where you spent funds advertising and move accounts and media to suit.

4. Training.

Yes you may know how to do it, and indeed the person next to you may well know too, just how to do it, but a new recruit or someone hoping to rise up the ranks may well not. We always look internally first to further train or promote. It makes sense, they know you and you know them. A new member must be trained alongside the all-important, never ever to be overlooked, lost or misplaced or not kept up to date, individual client operations processing manual. More on that later. Training is essential and immediate afterwards, dedicated monitoring is equally as important so you can judge that if in deed when they said "yes I understand" they did indeed understand. Needless to say you only release them onto a client account once they have ticked all your boxes and that vague look has disappeared!

5. Packaging requirements.

It's no good having items to send and nothing to put them in. Bespoke cardboard boxes can take an irreverent amount of time to design, order, check, tool for and produce. There is no such thing as a standard box, so allow more than enough time to have specialised packaging ready for your client's needs. Pre order pre made packaging so your supplier does not let you down if they get a rush order. Yes I know I used the 'R' word but it's the suppliers who may get a rush on! And, those hand held tape machines, hopefully they are knackered, totally knackered from all the hard work from the previous year, so order new ones. Good tools do a good job in the right hands, so give your team the tools they need. That way you can only blame them if they under perform, and then re-train to ensure their performance only improves!

6. External Support services.

Yes, you know who I mean, those that handle your output, the couriers and postal services. Undertake at least six monthly reviews of your outgoing support services, check out their ethos, is it speed or service or cost or a combination of all three? Let them know when you expect seasonal increases and ask them if they can lay on additional collections and what period of notice they require. Confirm your discussions in a follow up letter so they have no excuse not to know.

7. Internal support services.

No I don't mean the tea lady... oh gosh do they still exist or did they die off when black and white film became colour? I mean building maintenance people, additional IT engineers, your photocopier people, any support on your trading estate to maintain access should an additional leaf fall unexpectedly, site security. All these and more can have an impact on your business and cause the 'R' word to raise its ugly head, through no fault of your own. Well it will be your fault if you bury your head in the sand.

8. Stock.

Get to know your clients business, do they import, do they manufacture, do they rely on seasonal raw materials, do they have multiple suppliers to make one finished product. Get interested in them and their business. It may just raise a few questions as to what you should be asking to ensure they get stock to you in plenty of time for you to do your job in a timely manner and never have the need to use the 'R' word!

9. A Planner Chart... ' to infinity and beyond!'... Now where have I heard that!?

If you have a scheduling diary that shows one day to a view, bin it! If you have a planning dairy that shows one week to a view, bin it! If you have a dairy that shows a month to a view you're getting there... get my drift? You need to see are far as your horizon goes. Only that way can you say with certainty if you can one hundred per cent fulfil your clients' needs. Remember I MUST GET ORGANISED.

10. Dates.

These are fixed moments in time, no really I mean it! The 2nd of March is the same date in everyone's diary, unless you sit on the International date line, and if you do you need to check which side you're on... right now! A date is a date is a date. They will come and they will go. It's whether or not you are aware and prepared and everyone around you is informed to expect Valentine's day to fall exactly on the 14th of February each and every year. A date is a date is a date, if only to repeat myself. A courier's last collection date is that date, not a day before and certainly not a date after. For those of you who believe in the parallel universe theory you're let off this one or you may just understand what you are about to read.

11. Law, you know the fella!..Murphy's!.

What will go worng... will.

Get my point, wrong/worng? Look, really look for what may go wrong in a process, this process is of course detailed in the all-important, never ever to be overlooked, lost or misplaced or not kept up to date, individual client operations processing manual.

12. Write it down.

For every client that comes on board we spend a considerable amount of time gaining a clear understanding of their business, they're on-going requirements, where they'd like to be a year or more hence, and the in-depth process that they require us to perform. From this and more we create the all-important, never ever to be overlooked, lost or misplaced or not kept up to date, individual client operations processing manual. Therefore should it snow in August and some staff can't attend, others can follow the all-important, never ever to be overlooked, lost or misplaced or not kept up to date, individual client operations processing manual.

Get in touch NOW... now is after yesterday and before tomorrow, that way we’ll both be ready with a truly professional and cost effective fulfilment service to meet the rush!

Here at JEM, we know and understand you’re close to your business. You could say you’re up a ladder hanging a picture (your business) and we’re down here saying ‘left a bit, right a bit’. No matter if you’re a start-up or fully established, or what time of year you choose to join us we’re ready. At JEM we pay the same care and attention to helping you achieve your objectives. Call now... we want to listen.

by Erik Miller
JEM Marketing & Fulfilment Services Ltd.
The Invisible Link- Between Your Business and its Customers
www.j-e-m.com

Ecommerce Order Fulfillment, Why You Should Use a Fulfilment Provider.

2014-08-18T08:11:00.000-07:00

Processing and shipping orders to customers can be time consuming and painful. When you're taking care of your own fulfilment, there are numerous steps between getting a request and the customer accepting their items.

Following stock
Following shipments
Choosing a delivery administration
Printing transportation marks
Creating receipts,
Executing a drop delivering or request end-to-end satisfaction administration

Inventory Management
Inventory Management could be confusing, particularly when you have numerous channels through which you offer your products. Perhaps you have a eBay online store, a block and-mortar boutique, furthermore unload things on Amazon.
-How would you stay informed concerning stock when you've got requests rolling in from all over?

Invoicing
Invoicing is another pain point many shop owners have to deal with. When you achieve a substantial number of requests, making receipts gets to be monotonous and tedious.

Customer Services
As the popularity of your ecommerce efforts grow, so does the customer enquiries. You must consider the time it will take to respond and follow up to these enquiries. The last thing you want to do is to let your reputation tarnish due to not being able to handle the influx of customer enquiries.

Fulfilment
Fulfilment services handle your orders from beginning to end. Utilising JEM's eCommerce Fulfilment, all it takes is a shipment of your items from you to the stockroom, and you could be up and running. Requests will consequently be stuffed and sent by your particulars to your clients around the globe.

We provide on-demand e fulfilment solutions including:

• Real Time Payment Processing
• Full Service Web Store Functionality
   - We can also integrate our eCommerce platform with your existing Web site…you are then
     ready to trade with all major credit and debit cards. JEM manages all transactions for you,
     leaving you free to focus on your core activities.

Our clever e fulfilment systems provide complete control and transparency including:
• Request Controls
• Order Confirmation
• Order Transaction History
• Stock Availability
• Image View Reporting

Our ecommerce fulfilment service can also be used for internal stock orders within companies, enabling staff to order point of sale material and other marketing collateral for themselves and their customers.

With the JEM platform, your customers receive emails regarding the status of their order and, should they want to talk to someone, our Customer Services team is just a ‘phone call away.

It's an aggregate answer for the greater part of your delivery issues.

by Erik Miller
JEM Marketing & Fulfilment Services Ltd.
The Invisible Link- Between Your Business and its Customers
www.j-e-m.com

JEM Marketing & Fulfilment Services Info

2014-08-05T04:00:00.001-07:00

By Erik Miller

JEM Marketing & Fulfilment Services Ltd.
The Invisible Link- Between your business and its customers
www.j-e-m.com

How Fulfilment Services Can Help Your Direct Mail Marketing Campaign A Success.

2014-07-31T08:13:00.002-07:00

Direct Mail Marketing -The Keys

Direct Mail Marketing furnishes you with an approach to lead a test of the business sector in which you wish to operate. You'll know fairly rapidly whether the sector you're testing bears fruit or not.

However, executing a viable Direct Mail Marketing Campaign, is more about properly researching and planning the campaign. One must take into consideration that Direct Mail Marketing can actually be used in every phase of the sales funnel. Irrespective of whether you are concentrating on lead generation, promoting a new product or service, customer relationship management or engaging in database development, Direct Mail Marketing can be beneficial. Direct Mail can be used to send anything from creatively designed promotional packets, cards, letters, brochures and catalogues. The goal is to engage your customers.

This post will not educate readers on how to target and implement a successful Direct Mail Marketing Campaign, but it will demonstrate how a fulfilment service can be your knight in shining armour.

What Can a Fulfilment House Provide in Terms of Assisting a Direct Mail Marketing Campaign?

Data Management:

Data is the MOST important Key to the success of any Direct Mail Marketing Campaign. The contacts to whom you wish to mail promotional material are your most important asset. With no list, you have no chance of delivering your material. However once you have that list, then you will need to cleanse it from any human typographical errors to ensure you don't waste valuable time and money sending material to incorrect emails or physical addresses.

How JEM will Help
We employ our own bespoke software. Our data processing team uses this to perform undertakings, such as data cleansing, information purifying, de-duplication and postcode verification. These tasks serve to diminish cost and waste, allowing you to stay up to date with the latest results, making your standard mail proficient while offering the best conceivable rate of return.

Postage & Packaging Materials:

Postage and packaging materials play a central part in all Direct Mail Marketing Campaigns. The cost to post and pack your catalogues, CDs, DVDs, brochures and any other items can be costly and impede on the number of mailings you will be able to dispatch.

How JEM will Help
When it comes to a successful Direct Mail Campaign the cost of postage and packaging, as stated before, will either make or break the success of your campaign. No matter if it is just for a mailing within British Isles or if you intend to go Global, that's where our expertise coupled with our resources will help cut your expenses. We are able to work with you to eliminate mailing expenses and find the maximum return on your mail campaign. The nature of JEM's Fulfilment business allows us to source packaging materials and postage at better rates than you and your business could obtain. Don't let the cost of postage and packaging become a buffer to the success of your Direct Mail achievements.

Fulfilment:

Fulfilment the task of sending the mailings to the identified customers. This process includes storage, inventory management, picking and packing and concludes with posting the materials required for a Direct Mail Shot. Our fulfilment services will cut down process and dispatch times while maintaining the integrity of your company's ethos and brand. While utilising our services, you can spend your time focusing on other Direct Mail Campaigns or business growth related activities. Our services are aimed to relieve you and your business of time consuming administrative activities while still giving you control over each process.

By Erik Miller

JEM Marketing & Fulfilment Services Ltd.
The Invisible Link- Between your business and its customers
www.j-e-m.com

Tips to organise Your enterprise for Growth

2014-07-23T04:03:00.000-07:00

The Most Effective Method to Prepare Your Small Business for Growth from Inventory to Employees

When you're propelling a new business venture, the objective is normally centred on developing your client base and making deals. Every now and then making game plans for what is going to happen in the approaching months and years is not of fundamental concern.

Regardless of the fact that you've made a marketable strategy that digs to a degree into tentative arrangements, these are normally simply unpleasant evaluations of what you think may happen not far off. Yet as you begin to get into the segment of your normal business, it easy to disregard what you need to do to keep driving improvement. Yes, there's a ton to consider when taking the jump from being a start up in its early stages to blossoming into an established business.

Now the question that probably comes to mind; what should you focus now on to guarantee conceivable development? Listed below you will find ordinary ponderings that are worth investigating when you have high ambitions to take your business to the next level.

Adaptability

Due to globalisation and the advancement of technology, it should be no surprise that today’s market place is filled with many ambitious solo entrepreneurs. There are more visionaries and micro-organisations now than at any other time in history. Anybody with desire, extraordinary item or administration can begin offering on shopping platforms such as Amazon, eBay and or Shopify to name a few. However not every business is suited to grow from a small one or two man operation into a fortune 500. There is more that goes into business development than closing deals. These numbers must be supported by progressions to operations, staff, location and facilities.

Vision

It's paramount to ask yourself: What will your business look like on the prospect that it develops and profits fabricate? Would you be able to juggle more clients and still have time for a life outside of your business? Can you handle the anxiety and commitment if this happens?

It should be said that not every business development path advances with the same goals or objectives in mind. Some have ambitions to become a global multi-million dollar venture, while for others, it could be as basic as increasing deals enough to have the capacity to leave a day job. Distinguishing your interpretation of success is basic for planning for development, and there is no routine answer that is a good fit for everybody.

Stock

If your business model revolves around selling items, then stock is a key consideration when getting ready for advancement. Undoubtedly, inventory management is a champion amongst the most troublesome parts of creating a business. Would you have the capacity to get a greater amount of what you're offering if there was more prominent interest? In the event that you're making handcrafted items and have already maxed out what you can do, the reaction may be no. On the other hand, in the event that you have a supplier who will cheerfully furnish you with more stock, your business might be well situated for development. This prompts the issue of money.

Financing

Developing a business takes cash. Money needs to be available to purchase stock, contract help, and build advertising endeavours regularly. This is the reason it’s critical to do continuous money stream projections. Evaluate the amount of financing you may require before you begin doling out additional, to help your business' development.

Bank advances are one alternative, yet regularly conventional moneylenders are hesitant to give financing unless there is considerable security, secured business credit, and a nitty gritty strategy for success.

Equipment

What works fine when you have a couple of clients can get to be extraordinarily abate and wasteful when the business starts to develop. Everything from charge card handling gadgets and printers to bundling apparatus and conveyance trucks may need to be assessed before you hit the following venture in your business development. Not having sufficient supplies and or equipment can have a considerable effect on your end result.

Merchants

Perhaps you've been utilising a local courier service, local farm or area printer to make pamphlets and bundling for you. While it’s incredible to help a neighbourhood business, on the off chance that they can't help your development, it may be time to proceed onward to a merchant who handles bigger records. Practically every business in development mode hits the purpose of needing to change merchants. It is well worth your time and exertion to take a seat with them and enquire as to whether they can help your development. In the event that they can, then you may have the capacity to develop together. If not, it’s reasonable to move on.

It is important to select your business suppliers carefully from the get go. At JEM we take a partnership approach when working with our clients. We work with all types of businesses regardless of the sector or size. Additionally, we do not put limits or require monthly order minimums that could place a burden on newer businesses. We were once a small business, nearly 30 years ago. So we understand just hard it can be in the early stages.

If your a product oriented business, handling stock in-house, will appear to be the most cost effective option from the start. You will have more control over the storage, picking, packing and delivery of your products. But, when you begin to think about the time it will take to manage those tasks, cost to hire additional personnel, costs of distributing your products, what first appeared to be a sensible decision can actually effect the growth of your business. At JEM we provide a customisable fulfilment solution that will save you time and provide high customer service levels at the lowest possible unit cost. JEM has been able to save many small and medium sized businesses money and time with their flexible small business fulfilment solutions.

Staff

Having the right individuals set up is a necessity to maintain development. Additionally, these individuals need to be the team that you accept, that will help you run your business when you've grown to the next level. Contract workers who you feel certain might be fruitful in the size organisation you are striving to attain. They'll be your support team, your go-to-go members on staff as you voyage to get that next level of success.

Base Camp

Also known formally as your business headquarters. All businesses start from somewhere, whether it’s in your flat, garage and or university library. However most business can’t be supported in these alternative spaces. When you consider your objectives, imagine where you can get these going and the amount that will cost you on a month to month premise. Having the opportune spot to develop your business could be crucial to providing for you enough space to develop as well as to how your clients see your business.

Apart from just having a place to do all your administrative business activities you may need additional facilities for storage and a pick and pack area for order processing. Instead of going down the costly route of leasing or buying more space, equipment, another more economical option is outsourcing. JEM provides affordable storage and pick and pack solutions that have been proven to aide in business growth and development for previous clients of theirs. JEM keeps charges simple and charges a flat fee for storage and warehousing with no hidden fees, such as ‘in and out,’ ‘racking’ or ‘unloading’ fees. These services can provide support and that additional leverage to get your business running successfully.

Promotional & Marketing

Promotional Marketing is a common tool in driving more business. Do you have contenders who have more piece of the pie than you? Discover where they publicise and how they deal with their web showcasing exertions. They may be worth copying, or you may pick up some significant knowledge into what you can improve on.

Retreat Strategy

Each business visionary ought to consider what they imagine for the last part of their business. Maybe you might want to pass it on to your youngsters. Or maybe you accept top hopes of it getting bought by a competitor. Strategising on how you wish to retire from your business venture is actually an important factor in your business development plan and affects a lot of the decisions that you will make on your journey.

Ready to take the plunge and Grow?

Thinking of the many possibilities and potential outcomes of where your business can go and the amount it can develop, is both exciting and energising. Truthfully, this fervour is often precisely what moves people to join the ranks of the many entrepreneurs in any case. With boundless conceivable outcomes, business is without a doubt an astounding background that can convey an enormous feeling of pride and fulfilment.

by Erik Miller
JEM Marketing & Fulfilment Services Ltd.
The Invisible Link- Between Your Business and its Customers
www.j-e-m.com

What is Fulfilment?

2014-07-08T04:57:00.000-07:00

Additionally, What is the Fulfilment Process?

By Definition: Fulfilment is the process of receiving, packaging and shipping order for goods (Entrepreneur.com)

Fulfilment services are business processes often outsourced to fulfilment companies also known as fulfilment houses. These businesses are third party services that take care of fulfilling client orders on the business owner's behalf.

What's involved in the fulfilment process?

The fulfilment house works close with their clients to ensure each task that is outsourced is followed according to the clients brand and or company ethos.

The fulfilment process begins by receiving the products from the clients supplier, storing the clients inventory, receiving the orders from the clients sales pipeline, picking and packaging the orders as they come through and sending them off via post. Fulfilment can additionally include payment processing, customer service handling and returns handling.

Note: Fulfilment services can be used outside of ecommerce in other areas such as response handling, promotional fulfilment and even market research.

Who can use Fulfilment Solutions?

Ecommerce
Retail
Market Research
Promotional Marketing
Direct Mail
and more...

When it comes to fulfilment, because every company is different, the fulfilment process varies between each company. Companies have two options when it comes to handling fulfilment.

1st Option: In-House Fulfilment
It's quite common for businesses to handle their own fulfilment, but as time progresses and the sales grow, in-house fulfilment can eat away valuable time that could be spent on growth related activities as well as cost you financially. Keep in mind as your business and sales volumes grow so will your need for additional storage space and staff.

Growth Related Activities: These activities could be anything from product research and development, marketing and or promotional campaigns.

2nd Option: Outsource to Fulfilment House
A fulfilment house can free up your time by allowing them to take on your daily business processes. Businesses who switch to using a fulfilment house enjoy the seasonal flexibility, lower shipping costs and convert fixed costs to variable costs.

              Seasonal Flexibility:
                  When the holiday seasonal rush is right around the corner businesses no longer need to stress and worry about taking on temporary staff to support the influx of demand. This also means that those businesses do not need to worry about training new staff and or purchase new equipment to keep up with the rush and when the rush dies down their are no excess employees or idle equipment.

              Lower Shipping Costs:
   Since shipping is a key service that most all fulfilment houses dabble in, their mail volumes grant them the ability to get lower mailing rates that your business might not be able to negotiate.

               Convert Fixed Costs to Variable Costs:
   Storage facilities regardless if they are purchased or leased come attached with fixed costs. Some fixed costs could be rent, heating / air conditioning, plumbing and security services to name a few.

Basic Fulfilment Solutions include

Warehousing

The fulfilment house should be able to store your goods safely and secure in their storage facilities.
When you store your products with a fulfilment house they will generally monitor your stock levels and communicate when the need arises for stock replenishment.

Order Processing

How your orders get passed onto your fulfilment provider. This can be done either by API integration, Direct Download and or CSV just to name a few possibilities. Once the order has been received by the fulfilment house, the fulfilment team will process the order by first selecting the ordered products from your stored stock and package the products then sending them out to the identified customer on the order.

Returns & Exchanges

In the event an order is processed and the customer is not satisfied its common that most fulfilment houses to handle customer returns. The fulfilment house can process returns, examine returned items and determine if they can be resold and of course replace the faulty and or damaged product or refund the order.

By Erik Miller

JEM Marketing & Fulfilment Services Ltd.
The Invisible Link- Between your business and its customers
www.j-e-m.com

Wondering How to Sell Products Internationally?

2014-07-03T05:11:00.001-07:00

Growing your business on an international level is essential in order to maintain your businesses competitiveness. However, expanding your products to the international market can lead to potential challenges that can include:

Increase postage fees due to international postage fees
Increase lead times due to international courier services
Customer service can become challenging:

International consumers can become irritated with the time it takes to receive their products
Products could get damaged, lost or stolen when being shipped internationally.
Products could potentially get stuck in hold, waiting to pass customs inspections.
Product returns can get expensive and tricky due to the time it wold take to send the product back and get replaced.
Every country has different social norms, which can make communicating efficiently challenging.
Government paper work can eat your time and become rather confusing.

Shipping & Returns Policies

Shipping products internationally can be expensive and somewhat of a challenge. It is important to clearly state on your website your shipping process and return policies. Most international consumers will refuse to buy from a seller if these processes and policies are not clearly defined.

The shipping process should include the method of transport and time it will take for the product to arrive. Keep in mind, the longer it takes for your product to arrive to those international buyers the chances of them purchasing from you begins to deteriorate. It is also important to list potential variables in the event their parcel does not come in the time your shipping policy states.

The returns policies needs to clearly instruct your businesses process of accepting returned goods.

Will your business provide return postage free of charge?

If Yes, how will you provide this?
Will you enclose a return label in the event they need to return the item, or will you reimburse the customer?

What options do you provide on your returns?

Do you provide a full refund, or replacement of product sold?

How long could the process of returning a product take?

Sizing & Customs

UK and American sizing is completely different. One country prefers metric while the other prefers imperial. To prevent any miscommunication the prospective sellers need to ensure that sizing conversions and product information is presented clearly for all nationalities to perceive correctly. Remember, the success of any business comes from customer satisfaction.

Customs can be tricky and should be handled with care. Any paperwork that is filled out incorrectly can cost your business both financial loses but also damage its reputation. Think about that potential international customer who has been waiting over three weeks for their product and your business is unable to track and locate it. International sellers should also be mindful of the customs charges imposed on items coming into the EU.

Summary

The main objective here is to ensure expectations are clearly laid out from the beginning. Providing clear understandable shipping, returns and customs procedures. Adding, additional info on sizing, weight, etc.. shows your business goes the extra mile, by accommodating different country norms. Having a policy in place covering these bases will aid in providing great customer service, improve your businesses reputation and guarantee returning happy customers!

By Erik Miller

JEM Marketing & Fulfilment Services Ltd.
The Invisible Link- Between your business and its customers
www.j-e-m.com

Promotional Fulfilment by JEM

2014-06-24T07:38:00.000-07:00

Starting a Promotional Marketing Campaign?

Planning on Conducting a Marketing Campaign?

Look no further, as JEM Marketing & Fulfilment Services Ltd has years of experience handling all sorts of different promotional projects for clients. Regardless if you’re looking to furnish your team with the latest marketing materials, deliver point of sales materials to retailers or process data from market studies, our talented team has the flair, skill and knowledge to manage your outsourced promotional fulfilment. Our flexible approach allows us to tailor our services to meet your business requirements and needs.

Examples of Promotional Fulfilment

Promotional Literature (Brochures, Catalogues, Leaflets)
Cash Backs, Try Me Free and Money Back Guarantee
Coupon Clearing
Instant Wins
Prize Promotions
Free Mail-ins
Collector and Loyalty Schemes
Gift Packs
Free Sample Mail Outs
Point of Sale Collation
Beauty Kits and Sampling
And More

Additional Value Added Services by JEM

Contract packaging capabilities
Handling product returns
Kitting & Assembly solutions
Quality inspection
Data Capture
Data Validation and Cleansing
Procurement experience to select, source and manage the distribution of promotional products and the marketing collateral used to communicate these offers.
Domestic Contact Centre for customer service solutions, with a dedicated network of agents. Our contact centre handles a variety of customer service programs on a day-to-day basis.

Escape those disgruntled customers by providing a UK based call centre with friendly and knowledgeable staff.
JEM has the ability to provide full contact logs and summary reports if required.

Save time and effort and allow us to cleanse your data from inaccurate or incomplete records.

Promotional campaigns that are well-concieved and executed properly, can drive financial results and improve your brand image. The execution and management of a promotional campaign is the key to success. At JEM we aim to be the invisible link between your mission and its customers. Trusting your brand to someone else is a huge leap of faith. We not only understand that is a major commitment, but we also have the experience to delivery on your brand promise while maintaining its integrity.

Notes:

What are Promotional Products?

Promotional products also known as advertising products are branded articles often having the logo or slogan of the company they are promoting. They could be T-shirts, pens, key-chains etc. They are usually distributed at trade exhibitions or fairs or product launches where there is going to be a large gathering of like-minded people.

What are Marketing Campaigns?

Specific activities designed to promote a product, service or business. A marketing campaign is a coordinated series of steps that can include promotion of a product through different mediums (television, radio, print, online) using a variety of different types of advertisements. The campaign doesn't have to rely solely on advertising, and can also include demonstrations, word of mouth and other interactive techniques (Investopedia.com).

Quick Access Pages Regarding JEM's Fulfilment Solutions

By Erik Miller

JEM Marketing & Fulfilment Services Ltd.
The Invisible Link- Between your business and its customers
www.j-e-m.com

How Promotional Products Work for Your Business

2014-06-18T01:33:00.000-07:00

Have you or your company considered using promotional products and or materials to help boost awareness of your venture?

Promotional Marketing is a common strategy but most businesses do not often implement their strategy effectively. Promotional Product Campaigns can cover a wide array of different opportunities. The bags of goodies that we all acquire at trade shows and conferences, or those free gifts for being a member of a club, magazine and or organisation. There is also the giveaways, competitions and sweepstakes, where prizes can be an all-inclusive holiday, new car, and kitchenware just to name a few. These are all examples of different forms of Promotional Marketing campaigns.

When to use Promotional Products

Thank you Gifts
Employee Appreciation
Event Merchandise
Trade Show & Event Branding
Giveaways, Sweepstakes & Competitions

What to consider when choosing to use Promotional Products

Give away useful items that have purpose
Be creative when designing (WoW Factor)
Target your audience, Quality over Quantity

Products with Purpose

Firstly, it’s important to always remember the promotional items are for your clients. Secondly it’s imperative to select a product that addresses their needs and suits their taste. The British Promotional Merchandise Association Patrons (BPMA) statistics show that promotional items deliver an equal or higher ROI than other types of advertising – but that impact increases exponentially if your promotional product is repeatedly used by the customer. So a functional product is

What are some examples of Promotional Products with Purpose?

Pens
Mints
USB Memory cards / Stick
Cutting Boards
Water Bottles / Cups

Branded promotional products that have a purpose not only offer a use for every day but also ensure that those potential clients will be in reach with your company’s details. Additionally, if that client is allowing another person to barrow your company’s pen, USB Memory Card/ Stick, cup and so forth, they are essentially spreading the word of your business by sight. This is why design, branding and the overall look and use are essential to a successful promotional product strategy.

Design for Wow

Use this opportunity to stand out from your competitors. In today’s marketplace the world is becoming more and more transparent and competition is only going to increase. Great promotional materials should be organised and usable, similar to how a good website operates. Your brand and information should be easily identifiable. These branded materials need to also be able to capture the attention of your targeted audience and inspire them to try your services or products.

Quirky, witty and or creatively designed products is a proven effective method to capturing the minds of your prospective clients and or customers. Items designed with this in mind will leave a memorable impression of your business by leaving a branded footprint with your prospective target audience. These creative promotional products also give off a positive, innovative and imaginative perception that your organisation is creative with fresh ideas.

Targeting Your Audience

In order for you or your business to maximise the return on the investment of these promotional materials, it is essential to pick the right product that matches and compliments your industry. A good promotional strategy includes setting clear goals and objectives that will not only help you focus on a target but also streamline your marketing activities.

Share this Image On Your Site

By Erik Miller

JEM Marketing & Fulfilment Services Ltd.
The Invisible Link- Between your business and its customers
www.j-e-m.com

JEM is Hiring New Talent

2014-06-12T04:35:00.000-07:00

JEM is Hiring - Looking for new talent

We are looking for two highly motivated warehouse assistants to work in our busy mail order environment based in Cranleigh, Surrey GU6 8ND.

Position Details:

The position involves picking and packing daily products for despatch, unloading deliveries and some heavy lifting involved. Duties also include warehouse administration; such as checking in stock deliveries and the end of day postal account entries. The ability to work on your own or as part of a team is essential. Good computer and written skills are a must.

The working hours are 8am – 4.30pm

-one hour for lunch

-20 days holiday per annum

-plus bank holidays.

Good rates of pay, plus bonus opportunities

Note:

Please check out our location before applying for the position. If you do not have your own transport, please check public transport costs first, as they can be expensive. For more information about our company check out www.j-e-m.com or www.shopatjem.co.uk To apply, please send your CV and a covering letter to carole.south@j-e-m.com

NO AGENCIES PLEASE

By Erik Miller

JEM Marketing & Fulfilment Services Ltd.
The Invisible Link- Between your business and its customers
www.j-e-m.com

Reduce Fulfilment Costs, Go Green

2014-05-22T05:55:00.000-07:00

Save The Earth and Save £££

By using green practices you can save on your fulfilment costs

GREEN Fact: Recycling one ton of paper saves:

20 trees
7,000 gallons of water
3 cubic yards of landfill space
60 pounds of air pollutants
Saves enough energy to power the average home for six months

-10 Green Facts That Will Make Your Head Spin, Marc Swanson

_________________________________________________________________________________
Question...

How do you feel about your impact on the environment?
Do you feel that using 'Green' practices is expensive and unnecessary?
Or is that your busy, that you don't have time to think about 'Green' practices?

Relax, Your not the Only one with these thoughts
Time is precious. Sometimes, we entrepreneurs, mothers, fathers, students, and professionals are so busy, we do not always have time to think about how are efforts impact our Earth. The need to be 'Green' has never been more important than it is today. Whether it is the rising cost of electricity, oil, or new energy efficient technology, as a society our attitudes and mindsets have adopted how going 'Green' is essential for both businesses and our personal lives.

Now take off your business hat, and get into the mindset as a consumer
- When you buy a product via a Catalogue, Amazon, Ebay or through any other means where it is sent via post, how do you go about opening it?

- Do you get excited, and just automatically look for your new found treasures and toss away any other materials that come with it?

- If your package comes with reading materials, what do you do with them?
Common Reading Materials Found in Packages:

Notes to remind you to give 5 star feed back to the Amazon or eBay Seller
Coupons
Flyers, on new merchandise
Pre-generated Thank You notes
Mini Catalogues

Now with these questions in mind, in the previous section did you agree with the statement 'Sometimes, we entrepreneurs, mothers, fathers, students, and professionals are so busy, we do not always have time to think about how are efforts impact our Earth..?'

Do you want to be that business that wastes money on printing and using unnecessary material?

Lets Move to the 'Green' Fulfilment Practices

Listed below you will see a list of common fulfilment services that are not entirely 'Green' friendly and that could save your business money and effort.

Print & Packing Invoices
Print & Packing Notes
Print & Packing Non-Essential Leaflets / Inserts
Incorrect Sized Packaging
Excessive Packing Filler

NOTE: It is advised to include a returns slip and any information leaflet / insert that instructs the consumer on how to properly use your product.

But...

- What if you made it possible for your consumers to download, save and or print their own invoices

- What if you made it possible for your consumers to obtain any special notes via email, sms or through your website (example: Thank You Note, Feedback notes, Coupons, etc...)

Think about waste...

- When products are packaged in incorrectly sized boxes, bags and or envelopes this not only costs you financially but also can tarnish your brands image. Don't be that business that cuts corners.

- If products are packed in properly sized packaging it reduces the need to use packing filler.

The Take Away

If your simply selling products that require no product info, such as mobile phone accessories, board games, car parts, clothing, etc... It would be best to just pack it simply in the correct sized packing and take advantage of technology to engage with your consumers instead of relying on printed material.

By Erik Miller

JEM Marketing & Fulfilment Services Ltd.
The Invisible Link- Between your business and its customers
www.j-e-m.com

Tips to Improve your Attrition Rate for 2014

2014-05-21T05:17:00.000-07:00

What is Attrition?

The Oxford Dictionary defines attrition as the process of reducing something’s strength or effectiveness through sustained attack or pressure. Which can also be defined as the reduction of staff through common means such as retirement and or resignation.

What is the importance of improving my company’s attrition rates?

Employees are the backbone of any company. They are the ones that make your business come to life. They generate client leads or drive sales, nurture your clients and provide your services or products at the standards you market. So it is essential to ensure your employees are happy. The consequences of an unhappy employee can be damaging to the company, thanks to the virtual world we all live in. An unhappy employee will cost you in loss of productivity, brand equity, loss of customers and much much more. “A Happy Worker Is a Productive Worker. Marilyn Tam” Common employee issues that result in the decline of your attrition rate. Employee engagement, Rewards/ Incentives and Visibility are the most common issues.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT:

Feeling no emotional connection to your company or their co-worker’s makes for an unhealthy working environment. Our jobs take up a huge portion of our time in life, so it is important to ensure your working environment is healthy. Social interaction as well as a rewarding work environment create a healthy work place. Employees require respect, recognition as well as a challenging position with room to learn and progress further inside your company. Ways to create employee engagement:

-Employee luncheons
-Employee happy hours
-Lunch with Management/ CEO/ President
-Holiday Parties (Christmas Party, Halloween, Guy Fawks, Thanks Giving, etc…)
-Employee Appreciation Outings (Riverboat cruise, Comedy club, Paintball, BBQ, etc…)
-Celebrate bizarre days (Onesie Friday, National Donut Day, Eat What You Want Day, Speak like a Pirate Day, Margarita Day, etc…)

REWARDS/ INCENTIVES:

You hired your employees because you witnessed something inside of them. You gave your employees a chance to help build your business and keep it going. Your employees are an investment to your business. With that said, just because you give them a job, isn’t the most effective way to show your appreciation. It’s highly important to show appreciation to your entire workforce in order to keep moral high. Ways to Reward/ Incentives:

-Employee of the month
-Provide lunch (pizza, sandwiches, etc…)
-Provide morning treats (donuts, pastries, bagels, etc…)
-Create departmental goals with rewards
Goals: most positive reviews, going the extra mile, meeting or exceeding set goals
prizes: movie tickets, restaurant vouchers, grocery vouchers, gift cards
-Create a rotating trophy of greatness: Each month the trophy travels from one great employee to the next. The trophy can come with additional privileges such as, come into work later, leave work early or extra time on lunch.

VISIBILITY:

Share your company’s productivity reports. Your employees were hired to do a job. Let your employees see what their contributions have led to. By allowing your employees to be informed of your company’s real-time stats, this opens up the opportunity for them to feel connected and also gives them the ability to see the current state and direction of the company. Share the monthly sales reports, even if they are bad. This will allow you and your employees to increase accountability, as well as a culture of development, that will ultimately help you reach your objectives. Ways to increase visibility:

-Share monthly sales reports complete for goals and real time stats
-Hold monthly or bi-weekly team meetings and discuss the developments
-Create a dashboard on your company’s intranet that your employees have access to
-Create reports or show reports that reflect directly on the performance of each of your departments
-Create or share a management flow chart. Show the employment flow chart/ staff management structure

MOTIVATION:

Maslow stated that people are motivated to achieve certain needs. When one need is fulfilled a person seeks to fulfil the next one, and so on. Maslow developed a 5-stage model in the form of a pyramid. Jim Riley (2012) explains that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory consists of two parts, (1) the classification of human needs and (2) consideration of how the classes are related to each other. The stages of needs begin at the bottom and work their way up, starting with physiological followed by safety, love, esteem and ending with self-actualisation. The model illustrates that in order for a person to progress on to meet the higher level needs, they must first satisfy the lower basic needs.

When you look to the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs each stage relates to business, example:

Stage 1: Physiological needs

These are the simple needs of air, water, food, clothing and shelter. Essentially these are the required needs to survive. Without these needs the body will be unable to function. This is why they are the dominant needs.

Salary, decent working environment

Stage 2: Safety needs

These needs include, physical, emotional, protection and environment safety. Job security, family security, financial security are different forms of safety needs.

Safe working conditions, job security

Stage 3: Social needs

The need to feel belonged, which includes love, affection, friendship and care.

Good team atmosphere, friendly supervision

Stage 4: Esteem needs

Internal esteem and external esteem make up this stage. Achievement, self-respect and confidence are examples of internal esteem needs. Status, attention, appreciation and recognition are examples of external esteem needs.

Fancy job title, recognition of achievements

Stage 5: Self-Actualisation needs

This final stage represents the need to the person’s full potential and the need to realise it. The desire to become everything that one is capable of becoming, is how Maslow describes the final stage of Self-Actualisation needs.

Opportunities for creativity and personal growth, promotion

When managers, identify the need levels of their employees, this will allow them to help them feel fulfilled. This will intern aid in improving your attrition levels.

By Erik Miller

JEM Marketing & Fulfilment Services Ltd.
The Invisible Link- Between your business and its customers
www.j-e-m.com