Dallas Business Consultant Elijah ClarkDallas Business Consultant Elijah Clark

Don’t try to do everything

One of the biggest business mistakes I have ever made was trying to do everything myself. I wore the hats of the marketing department, sales, customer service, collections, technical support, developer, graphic artist, etc.

I understand that you may want to save money or may simply not have the financial support to hire someone else to complete additional task. However, do what you need until you can get help and then get the help. If you have to cut your pay temporarily to hire a project manager while you handle sales, you will be grateful in the end. Else, you’ll drain yourself empty and never have the time to do what you love.

Do yourself a favor and focus on what made you love the idea of being a business owner in the first place.

Security Breach and Ethics

As a healthcare patient, I feel that the privacy of my personal information is a major concern. Organizations should focus on making ethical decisions when handling patient information in regards to implementing effective security and privacy measures (Haag & Cummings, 2008). Many organizations including healthcare spend thousands or millions of dollars on securing patient privacy and protecting data against breaches and hackers (Farahmand, Navathe, Sharp, & Enslow, 2005). It is the responsibility of leaders and management to understand and influence ethical practices which relate to privacy and security threats (Haag & Cummings, 2008). Security breaches have the ability to disable the functions of a business and pilfer confidential consumer information such as healthcare information, social security numbers, and passwords (Tran & Atkinson, 2002). In addition to potential loss in revenue, breaches also create consumer distrust, and negatively affect brand reputation (Farahmand et al., 2005).Ā  The risks associated with breaches such as loss of confidentiality, integrity, and availability, should cause organizations to be aware and active with threats that generate concerns (Halliday, Badenhorst, & Solms, 1996).

 

Suggested Readings

Farahmand, F., Navathe, S. B., Sharp, G. P., & Enslow, P. H. (2005). A management perspective on risk of security threats to information systems.Ā Information Technology and Management, 6(2–3). doi:10.1007/s10799-005-5880-5

Haag, S., & Cummings, M. (2008).Ā Management information systems for the information ageĀ (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Halliday, S., Badenhorst, K., & Solms, R. (1996). A business approach to effective information technology risk analysis and management.Ā Information Management & Computer Security, 4(1). doi:10.1108/09685229610114178

Tran, E., & Atkinson, M. (2002). Security of personal data across national borders.Ā Information Management & Computer Security, 10(5). doi:10.1108/09685220210446588

Outlining your personnel expenses

The Right Personnel

Businesses generally have multiple employees completing various task. If this is your business, then you need to evaluate the expenses needed when hiring new personnel.

Personnel expenses may include expenses of current and future employees, which are needed to successfully implement the marketing strategy.

Expenses to consider include:

  • Number of employees
  • Type of labor (skilled, unskilled, professional)
  • Where to find new employees
  • Quality of existing staff
  • Pay structure
  • Responsibility

Building your perceived value

Perceived value is based on how much money the consumer or business believes the product is worth. It is the marketer’s responsibility to generate a positive perceived value of the company’s products. Whether marketing a service or a product, the results are similar in that both rely on the consumers’ perception of the company’s or individual’s expertise, quality, and reputation.

If your business and your competitors are to sell the exact same item, built exactly the same way, and from the same materials, it is likely that the business with the better brand value reputation can sell the item at a higher price because of the perceived value by the consumer.

If your customer perceives the value of your product high, the customer will likely show more interest and loyalty. The customers’ perception of your company’s customer support, trust, loyalty, and product quality determine the products value.

Developing your personal brand

Your brand matters most

Your brand is often your business’s most valuable asset. A strongĀ brandĀ can generate loyal customers and positive sales. It is the responsibility of theĀ marketerĀ to create aĀ brandĀ that customers view as positive and valuable. For the brand to be valuable to the customers, it needs to simplify the decision-making process and reduce the risk for the customers. Positive branding can influence customer behavior. Having a strong brand will result in better earnings and profit performance, which will generate greater shareholder value for your business.

A personal brand is a presentation of your unique skills, knowledge, experience, and expertise that help make you memorable. These unique assets influence employers to hire and professionals to want to work with you. For you to expand your social brand and generate brand awareness, you can start by creating or cleaning up your social media pages. On social media pages, you should not post anything that you don’t want employers or customers to see. This includes both text and images. In addition to social media pages, you should create digital portfolios and personal websites. The benefits of these are that customers can easily find websites, and it allows you to present yourself in favorable conditions.

Privacy and Ethical Concerns

Ethical considerations within businesses are largely over-looked within marketing management research (Bell & Bryman, 2007). Business ethics research inherently focuses on sensitive and controversial issues (Miyazaki & Taylor, 2008). Consequently, most business ethics research is susceptible to interaction biases (Miyazaki & Taylor, 2008).

There is a growing concern from consumers that their privacy and personal information is being digitized and sold without their permission (Foxman & Kilcoyne, 1993). The concern is that credit cards, billing details, and other private data is bought and sold across the marketing industry between businesses and organizations to use as soliciting tools. Consumers agree that the lack of organizational ethics when collecting the information is morally wrong (Foxman & Kilcoyne, 1993). The debate amongst consumers and businesses is that both parties feel they own the information submitted. Businesses believe that they have the right to use the information any way they choose to help better their organizational goals and to produce better marketing services (Foxman & Kilcoyne, 1993). Additionally, the organizations that purchase the user information feel they own the data because they purchased it.

If the results show that a company is being unethical by confusing or misinforming consumers on how their private information is used, management should work diligently to resolve the confusion by making privacy details clear. In formulating a research-oriented approach that would benefit the practice in regards to the issue presented, I recommend utilizing a qualitative format similar to the constructivist format. I would begin by outlining the problems being addressed and then focus on presenting existing literature regarding the problem and the significance of the study (Creswell, 2009). Next, I would present procedures including a qualitative research strategy for collecting the necessary data. Finally, I would focus on validating my finding using various forms of interview questions, observational forms, timelines, and proposed budgets (Creswell, 2009).

Recommended Readings

Bell, E., & Bryman, A. (2007). The ethics of management research: An exploratory content analysis.Ā British Journal of Management, 18(1), 63–77. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8551.2006.00487.x

Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Foxman, E. R., & Kilcoyne, P. (1993). Information technology, marketing practice, and consumer privacy: Ethical issues.Ā Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 12(1), 106-119. doi: 10.1007/s10660-007-9000-y

Miyazaki , A. D., & Taylor, K. A. (2008). Researcher interaction biases and business ethics research: Respondent reactions to researcher characteristics.Ā Journal of Business Ethics, 81(4), 779–795. doi:10.1007/s10551-007-9547-5

Creating a professional brand image

Creating a professional image

A good graphic artist will understand that business logos are not just for multi-national corporations. Graphics are for any enterprise that wants to present a professional image and customer recognition for a job (otherwise known as branding).

Your logo works for you on your business cards, stationery for your company, invoices and receipts, your business’ publications, and of course ads. A good business logo design helps your customers remember your business and many people remember images better than they remember the words.

Content Management Systems CMS

Stay Updated With a CMS

With some websites, having fresh content is mandatory to gain new and repeat clients. With aĀ Content Management SystemĀ (CMS), you can keep your site updated with the latest news articles, products, and services. You have full control over what you want to put on and take off your site.

Updating:

Your website needs to be easily upgraded with new content on a regular basis.Ā A CMSĀ gives you full control so that you can easily add new updates and blogs to your website without having to call a programmer to do it for you.

Results:

All content can be managed through a simple user interface that allows for quick task completion. The Administration area is easy for all to use, and can involve multiple access levels for various management controls.

With a CMS, you can easily implement and manage:

  • Article publishing
  • Website forums
  • Photo galleries
  • Surveys and polls
  • Projects
  • Interactive event calendars
  • Complex data entry forms

A phenomenology research method

Based on my research of a phenomenology, it uses descriptive analysis to capture experiences (Sanders, 1982). The method evaluates experiences and brings them closer toĀ livedĀ phenomenaĀ (Sanders, 1982). A phenomenology study is a methodĀ usedĀ for unfolding human experience by examining the uniqueness and commonalities of events and circumstances. A phenomenology approach is recommended for continually evaluating biases and presuppositionsĀ (Sanders, 1982). A phenomenology study focuses on understanding the meaning of human experiences by analyzing the pure and unencumbered visions of experiences. A phenomenology research design comprises of three components, which are a) determining limits of who and what is toĀ investigate, b) data collection, and c) phenomenology analysis of dataĀ (Sanders, 1982). The data collection techniques used in phenomenology research include in-depth, documentary, and observation. Additionally, it is essential that interviews conducted are recorded and transcribed.

Additional Reading

Sanders, P. (1982). Phenomenology: A new way of viewing organizational research.Ā Academy Of Management Review, 7(3), 353-360. doi:10.5465/AMR.1982.4285315

Finding a graphic artist

There are plenty of graphic artist within the crowded market. If you have not found one yet, then ask a friend, family member, or stranger on the street. Chances are one of them will claim to be or know a graphic designer.

The right artist should not only be creative, but they should also understand how to create artwork that is marketable. Designing is the easy part, but knowing what to design, who to design for, and how to direct, entertain, persuade, and attract attention with your artwork is the difference between having good artwork and effective artwork.

1 2 3 7
READY TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS?
Copyright 2023 - Dr. Elijah Clark Enterprises - Sitemap - Policy - Fees