So much has changed in the business world that has affected how leaders make decisions. While not every single decision will have a far-reaching impact, some will certainly be powerful and you want to make sure that you make the best decisions to bring about great success. Here are some decisions to make 2021 a successful year.
Work From Home
Without being tethered to where they work, people are starting to rethink how and where they work. When employees had to obey lockdown orders and work from home due to the novel coronavirus COVID-19, their employers adopted it quickly so that work could be done safely and remotely. Now that it has been a year of lessons learned, many businesses are reconsidering their business models.
In fact, 2020 saw some of the largest moves away from coastal, populated cities in New York and California, and into states like Idaho, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Now that more companies realize that they don’t need their employees to physically show up, their employees have decided to move to areas where they would prefer to live.
Use More Data
One of the other advantages to a world becoming more dependent on technology is that there is more data that can be aggregated and used to make decisions and find solutions. By utilizing cloud storage, analysts within your company can access the data from anywhere they live.
Choose Better Payment Solutions
Speaking of using data, have you thought about how data relates to your payment solutions for B2B transactions? Major credit card companies such as Visa and MasterCard charge interchange rates for the privilege of using their credit cards.
This is to offset the risk that they assume if customers cannot pay. However, these fees can take a big bite out of business profits. These fees range from 1.85% plus $.10 per transaction up to 2.1% plus $.10 per transaction. That may not sound like a lot when it comes to transactions with consumers, but with B2B and B2G transactions, it could be thousands of dollars.
One way to lower your interchange fees is to reduce the amount of risk that credit card companies are taking on. And a way to do that is to ask for more data at the time of the transaction.
Depending on how much data you provide you can qualify for what is called level two rates. But the most savings are found at level three rates which are when you ask for the following data for every transaction:
- Merchant name
- Transaction amount
- Transaction date
- Customer code
- Ship from postal code
- Destination postal code
- Invoice number
- Order number
- Freight amount
- Line item detail of the purchase
- Tax ID
- Tax amount
Move Into E-Commerce
Even if you’re a brick-and-mortar establishment, it behooves you to think of moving into the online realm. It’s easy to set up a payment system so that you can clear transactions, and take advantage of companies that help with distribution, such as Amazon.
Increase Your Social Media
If you haven’t noticed the theme so far, everything has moved online, including your audience. Engage your customers using videos, scheduled posts, and fun and creative hashtags that keep them connected to your brand. It’s one of the easiest ways to reach new audiences.
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