Why it’s important to implement lean manufacturing in your business

In any manufacturing business, two of the most expensive and most common types of problems has to do with efficiency and product or environmental wastage.

Without a proper system in place, businesses are experiencing the negative effects of wasting many products, that could’ve otherwise been better utilized. To combat this problem, businesses can follow through the process of lean manufacturing.

Lean manufacturing is also referred to as “lean production.” This is the process of minimizing waste in the manufacturing aspect of the business, which, in turn, maximizes productivity. The less waste that you produce, the better you contribute towards the environment’s health and the company as a whole. This is what led businesses to go for the concept of “lean manufacturing.”

That said, here are some of the benefits that you can gain from implementing lean manufacturing in your business:

1. You Can Aim For Better Product Quality

Apart from materials that are wasted, without lean manufacturing, you’re also wasting the time of your employees. Instead of focusing on the product’s quality, your employees are caught up in managing products and materials that don’t even get to waste. Can you just imagine having more inventory to manage and to control? That means your workforce is already tied up; product quality is no longer the priority.

With lean manufacturing, you only have the materials that you need and use. Because of this, your employees have more time on their hands to focus on innovation and the product’s quality.

Watch this video to learn more about how lean manufacturing is applied in a real company and its positive results to the business.

2. Your Employees’ Satisfaction Increases

Because you always have extra inventory on hand, there seems to be so much for your employees to do. More stocks mean additional and unnecessary work has to be done. Chances are, your employees are already aware that you’re over-stocking. They may also be wishing you to practice lean manufacturing, but might not have management’s vote to do so.

If you noticed that employee satisfaction is decreasing and you have a lot of inventory on hand, now’s the time for you to switch to this better system. With lesser inventory on your factories, this means that your employees can have their focus on the work that has to be done. Apart from better productivity, your employees also end up happier and more satisfied with their job.

Now, they’re finally doing a job that has a direct impact on the production, rather than keep themselves busy on materials that won’t even get to be utilized soon.

3. Your Customer Service Improves

Another aspect that improves because of lean manufacturing is your customer service. One of the principles of lean manufacturing has to do with identifying the value that’s perceived by your customers. This means that you have in mind the values that are set by your customer.

Remember that customers always need the following: businesses that provide them what they want and their wants can be conveniently purchased.

Because you’re only keeping an inventory of those materials that are needed or demanded, you can focus your energy on really providing value to your customers. If there is something that they need that you don’t have, you can immediately order it anyway. That way, you’re only keeping those that are valued by your customers.

4. Your Lead Time Improves

With lean manufacturing, your manufacturing processes also improve. There’s less confusion in the factory or in the production department, as the employees are only dealing with all of the stocks that they have in the warehouse.

For instance, for the succeeding months, the demand suddenly decreases, and you have kept so much extra stock on hand? All these extra stocks are taking up space that you could’ve otherwise spent on other more important stocks that could’ve been used productively for whatever product needs to be manufactured that is in demand now.

Without lean manufacturing processes, you’re slowing down your lead-time by crowding your factories with unnecessary materials that aren’t really needed in any of your production activities at the moment.

5. You’re Reducing Waste Products

Without proper lean manufacturing methods in place, you’re opening up your business to a lot of waste products. Following Toyota’s model, the lean approach is supposed to increase productivity by improving the processing speed and quality because of lesser waste products.

Not only are you becoming friendlier to your clients and to other companies, but you’re also becoming more sustainable for the environment. When there is less waste emitted, you’re aptly allowing yourself to have better corporate social responsibility practices.

Remember that you have a responsibility to uphold and protect the environment at all times. Businesses and firms, be it manufacturing, engineering firms, shopping warehouses, and what-not are the number one contributor to environmental damage and wastes. You should annually strive to reduce your carbon footprint as an industry.

Conclusion

Competition in the manufacturing and production industry is quite tough nowadays. For you to stay in the competition, you need to evolve your practices. By incorporating lean manufacturing in your company, you’re more efficient with your waste.

Following the principle of Toyota, you focus only on having stock of your actual needs. With this management and production practices, you’re better, in general, as a corporation.

Top 10 reasons to use promotional merchandise

Using marketing merchandise has always been a  good way of promoting a business. However, in recent years, the digital age has taken over.

Thus, most people are either doubtful of how effective marketing merchandise is or rely on other, more modern marketing tools.

But we still believe that marketing merchandise can bring about plenty of benefits. In fact, we can think of ten reasons why everyone should consider it!

1. A form of low-cost marketing

One of the best things about marketing merchandise is that it’s far less expensive than some other promotional methods. Furthermore, other types of advertising, such as TV ads, will stay in circulation for only a limited time. Thus, branded merchandise is more economical, and it tends to give the business more coverage at a reasonable price.

2. It breeds happiness among our current customers

Another great thing about marketing merchandise is that it can also be used for corporate giveaways. These giveaways will not only help our brand keep up with the times and stay relevant. They will also remind our customers that we’re there for them and that we care. Moreover, the merchandise will tell them that they can always come back with more orders, should they need our services again.

Imagine that, for example, you’re selling iced beverages in the summer. You could give people printed reusable straws with these and you’ve got yourself relatively cheap brand exposure. These will at the very least help your brand stay top-of-mind for a season.

3. Longer lifespan than some other traditional marketing methods

What’s incredible about promotional products is that they will continue generating brand exposure for a very long time. How? Well, it’s rather simple. There is a variety of promotional products that we can use — clothes, branded water bottles, keyrings, etc. Thus, all these products can easily end up on someone’s body, in someone’s bag or everyone’s hands. As such, they will be used on a daily basis, always reminding everyone of our brand, which means that we will get frequent and consistent brand exposure.

4. It shows that we care about our audience

Promotional items are free, which means that we’ll provide our audience with useful products they won’t have to pay anything for. Thus, they will be happy, and we will, essentially, show them how much we care about them. That way, the relationship we share with our audience will only grow, as we’ve shown them that we are not reluctant to give back.

5. It helps us become an industry leader

With promotional products, we can be as innovative as we want. What’s more, by giving our customers practical or entertaining products, we will show off a side of our company that’s rather appealing to everyone — the creative side.

6. It impresses exhibition and trade show visitors

Hosting a booth at trade shows and exhibitions is a good way of promoting our company. But add some promotional products to the mix, and we’ll find ourselves surrounded by potential customers. After all, nothing makes a business stand out more than free, branded gifts.

7. It helps us develop company loyalty

Promotional products, especially those that come in the form of clothes with printed logos, can help us boost brand awareness. But what’s even better is that they can also inspire our customers to keep coming back to our brand. Yes — marketing merchandise can also help us build a client base full of loyal customers.

8. It appeals to everyone

Since promotional products come in all shapes and sizes, they also have a variety of functions we can choose from. Thus, no matter if our audience is young or old, we will easily find a gadget or a promotional gift that will appeal to them. Moreover, promotional products are able to attract anyone’s attention, which means we can easily reach a wider demographic.

9. It shows how fun our business is

Most promotional products are not only practical but fun to have and use as well. Hence, by giving them away to our current and potential customers, we can show our fun side to everyone. In fact, our business will even be deemed relatable, which can also lead to more brand awareness and more loyalty.

10. It reinforces what we stand for

A brand’s tone is what determines which promotional products we pick in the end. Why? It’s because marketing merchandise can easily strengthen our brand message. Once someone gets a promotional product from us, they’ll immediately know what we are trying to convey and what kind of a business we have. Fun or serious — it doesn’t really matter.

What’s important is that promotional products can convey our brand’s tone in the best way possible.For more promotional products, visit GoPromotional.co.uk.

Author Bio

Richard Larson is the Marketing Manager at GoPromotional, the leading UK promotional keyrings company He enjoys sharing his experience on a range of subjects to enable customers to increase their brand awareness through the use of promotional products.

The last straw: how businesses should think about plastic

It’s tough to be plastic these days – and rightfully so. It would seem the days of thoughtless consumerism around plastic is over, with a keen focus on changed attitudes as awareness grows.

That said, of the over 5 million tonnes of plastic waste produced in UK each year, only around a quarter of it is recycled. It’s well-known, but it bears repeating: our consumption of plastic is unsustainable. Within the business environment, the following are some key considerations around plastic recycling in the workplace.

THINK ABOUT (AND ACT FOR) THE ENVIRONMENT

• Environmental concerns around plastics arise long before they end up in the ocean. The manufacture of plastics also has environmental consequences. Plastics are a chemical bond of oil and gas and this process is energy- and resource-intensive.
• Plastic infamously takes a very long time to break down. In landfill, combined with other waste forms, toxic leachate from plastics are released into the ground, often ending up in our water systems. These are damaging to human health, wildlife, and eco-systems. Large volumes of plastic also end up in streams, rivers, and the ocean. This is extremely harmful to marine wildlife and eco-systems.
• We need a healthy environment for our own health. The contamination of our water sources and the food we consume from the oceans has potentially dire health effects.

GOVERNMENT’S AIMS

• A target of 50% of the UK’s plastic to be recycled by 2020
• Three quarters of the UK’s plastic to be recycled by 2035
• In addition to single-use plastic regulations, the Government is proposing a number of regulations around plastic usage. One of the main areas affecting businesses is packaging. Government aims to tax plastic packaging which is made from less than 30% recycled material and impose a ban on plastic packaging where another material could be used in its place.

HOW TO REDUCE YOUR PLASTIC WASTE TIPS

• Be mindful of how you and your business consume plastics. Are alternatives available? If so, use them.
• Re-use your plastics wherever possible. Be conscientious around packaging and try to innovate around ways to use your plastics elsewhere.
• Make waste management a part of your business strategy. Recycling culture has myriad benefits for businesses – including potential cost savings and an enhanced reputation for responsible business.
• Recycle responsibly. This means avoiding contamination wherever possible. Educate your employees on what goes into which bin, cleaning, and readying your bins for recycling.

PLASTIC RECYCLING QUICK FACTS

• What plastic can be recycled?Every plastic can be recycled. It’s just that some are more costly and complicated to recycle. Your plastic water bottle? This is one of the most commonly recycled forms of plastic. The least recycled plastic? Polystyrene.
• What is dry mix recycling?Recycling creates new products and components from old products. Dry mix recycling takes uncontaminated plastic items (and other products like glass, aluminium cans, cardboard, and paper) and gives it new life, reducing its impact and the resources associated with creating new products.
• Single-stream recycling.A time- and cost-effective recycling solution for many businesses, single-stream recycling removes the need for bin system and assumes the responsibility for cleaning and sorting waste on your business’s behalf.

DOES YOUR BUSINESS HAVE AN EFFECTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY?

For many businesses, waste management is a question of cost – and understandably so. It makes sound business sense to shop the market for the best rates on everyday business services. However, every business stands to benefit from the advice of waste specialists. This allows for waste management solutions tailored to every business’s unique set of requirements and circumstances. This is the aim of the team at Smarter Business. Click here to find out more about their waste management and other utility and business services.

How to reach customers & sell more products

Having a great product or service isn’t always enough for finding new people who are willing to buy from you.

Of course, reaching new customers and selling your products is vital for your business if you want to grow.

That is why your public relations have to be impeccable. They can make or break your company since a strong customer base really is the foundation of a successful business, but you should also think of ways to acquire new customers.

Fortunately, there are strategies and tips that can help:

• effective sales strategy
• testimonials
• wise marketing efforts
• affiliate programs

Effective sales strategy

You can find many sales strategies that have been working for dozens of businesses since the beginning of time, but you can also dig up new ones every month that come with the emerging trends in technology.

In order to tailor your ultimate sales strategy that will rack up the numbers and bring in new customers, you need to educate yourself as much as you can.

What’s in it for your prospect?

Many entrepreneurs forget that the purpose of their business is solving their customers’ problems. That is why you should always employ a strategy that clearly defines how you can help your prospects.

Lead your sales pitch with a clear articulation of the challenge you can help your prospect solve. Do not dive straight into the different packages, price points, or special promotions. By doing so, you are showing a lack of empathy for their position. In other words, you are clearly not willing to listen to and understand them.

Instead, start by showing them what they can do with your offer and how it can help them. Know that at the beginning of a sales conversation, your prospect doesn’t really understand the benefits of what you are selling. So, treat your product as a valuable solution to a real need instead of making it seem like a commodity.

Define the end results

This is something the vast majority of sales consulting experts can agree on – customers purchase results, not just products or services.

When you grab your prospect’s attention with what they will be able to achieve with your solution, you should explain how that will happen and how they will further benefit from your offer.

If you are selling a product to a company that has never used a similar product before, you will have to inform them about how it will work, how much of a time investment they should expect to make when it comes to managing it, and the types of ongoing support they will have available.

Flexibility

Don’t think that you won’t face challenges and unique demands from your prospects during your sales conversations. Each company you work with is different in its own way, and has different sets of internal processes and objectives.

Of course, saying that you ‘can’t’ do something or ‘won’t’ do something is a sure way to mess up a sale; you have to be flexible with your sales strategy. It needs to be flexible enough to adapt in the face of new challenges on the go.

Of course, sometimes you have to say no, but avoid doing so whenever you can. When you say no, you lose your reputation as a problem-solver and instantly close the door to many possibilities. Do your best to at least check with your team if there is a chance to accommodate a tough request.

Testimonials

Some may say that testimonials fall under marketing efforts, but the value they can provide is so great that they deserve to be a separate part of the sales strategy.

Testimonials are slowly becoming a super powerful marketing weapon. A testimonial from a well-known person in the industry could just be the best PR strategy a company can use. It’s a type of word-of-mouth marketing that resonates well with the target audience.

Awesome testimonial examples include influencer testimonials, effective Facebook testimonials, and Twitter testimonials. One great example of a celebrity testimonial is the ad for Nespresso featuring George Clooney and Natalie Dormer. People loved that ad, and it was trending on various social media platforms for quite a while.

However, whatever you’re doing, make sure to always include some customer testimonials on your website. They do wonders for emerging businesses since people always love to see what other people, similar to them, think about a product or service.

Wise marketing efforts

In order to come up with a solid marketing strategy, you need to determine who your ideal customer is. It is by knowing your audience that you can find out what you need to do to tailor a killer marketing strategy.

Of course, different markets require different strategies, but below are some that have worked well across multiple industries.

Email marketing

Email is still one of the most consistently effective channels for acquiring new customers. On top of that, unlike some other channels, email marketing can start generating traffic immediately.

It would be smart for you to start promoting your business with email marketing. Of course, you don’t have to spend all your time writing and sending emails. Instead, set up a collection of automated email campaigns that are designed to increase your revenue.

You could email new subscribers and offer them an incentive, or address new customers with a post-sale email to upsell and delight.

Email marketing has proven to work especially well within the ecommerce industry. So, if you are in that industry too, make sure to check it out.

SMS marketing

Using anSMS API might just solve your bad outreach figures. Many businesses use global messaging services for their SMS marketing campaigns, and there is no surprise about that since this type of marketing has a great open rate.

On top of that, if they are relevant enough and personal, SMS messages can do wonders for customer engagement. Also, they are quite reliable since they can’t go to spam like emails. You won’t be spending countless hours crafting a perfect message only for it to get delivered straight to spam.

Finally, with this marketing strategy, you will be able to reach your customers globally. With SMS, you can even reach people who do not have an internet connection and whom you wouldn’t be able to interact with otherwise.

Social media marketing

Photo by Tracy Le Blanc from Pexels

Social mediaplatforms have never been so popular. And that makes these platforms a great way to promote your company. Marketing of this kind can be a powerful weapon if used correctly to reach out to new prospects.

Therefore, your business should be present on the most popular platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. This is a sure way to generate website traffic, attract new customers, and get conversions.

Engage your audience on social media platforms, organize contests, interact as much as you can, and you will create a better brand identity and communication with key audiences.

Affiliate programs

Adding an affiliate program could help you drive more sales if you’re on a tight budget for marketing. Affiliate marketing programs enable other people to promote your product for a commission where you only have to pay them if they make a sale.

These programs usually work by creating a custom URL for each company promoting your products. This link can be shared on social media, in a blog post reviewing your product, or on the company’s website.

With these custom links, you will be able to track who is driving sales for you so that you can compensate them later. Remember that this program comes in handy because it’s cost-effective and successful in most cases. Not only are your affiliates promoting your products, but in a way, they are also doing marketing for you.

Bonus tip: Build lasting relationships

Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels

Let’s finish things off with a simple but smart bonus tip – keep your customers for life! Once you have a customer purchase something from you, build a lasting relationship. Do not let that be the end of your relationship with the customer.

Put your focus on keeping a strong relationship with your customer. This not only creates trust and helps you develop a strong customer base, but also spreads a nice message about your business. People appreciate every bit of effort you put into the relationship you’re building. And that can only build more trust and add value to your product.