Business.com |
- How AI-Powered SEO Can Fuel Your Venture
- The Culture and Practice Behind Agile Innovation
- Ways to Fund Your Startup Without Losing Equity
- 3 Ways to Leverage AI for Small Business Growth
- How to Cash in on Your Excess Inventory
| How AI-Powered SEO Can Fuel Your Venture Posted: 09 Sep 2019 12:00 PM PDT  Humans aren't mind readers. Yet, 76% of customers expect businesses to anticipate their needs and expectations. Fortunately, advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning are helping SEO specialists to manage and unify data, understand user behavior, predict their needs, and deliver personalized experiences. These disruptive technologies are enabling SEO experts to improve the effectiveness of their campaigns. AI and SEO are a gainful combination for search marketers as it allows them to keep up with Google and other search engines that are continuously incorporating machine learning into their products and services. In a recent survey by Techemergence, "search" was voted as the most profitable application of AI and ML in digital marketing. This is because search engines have become smarter in identifying keyword stuffing and irrelevant backlinks and assessing the quality of content. Hence, marketers need to use AI-powered SEO tactics to meet the requirements of search engines and boost their online ranking. If you want your business to succeed, AI-powered SEO is a worthwhile investment. Read on to learn AI can help you improve your online reputation and fuel the growth of your venture. 1. Create awesome SEO contentThe search engine giant, Google, is well-known for tweaking its search algorithm to offer high-quality and relevant content to its users. Last year, several websites were struggling to come to terms with the huge loss in traffic (read: revenue) after Google rolled out E-A-T (Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness). No wonder, offering great content with high E-A-T rating is core to business success. AI and machine learning can help search marketers identify consumer search trends, automate keyword research, and develop content that ranks high in the SERP. AI-driven platforms like Bright Edge, Content Fusion, and Can I Rank?, can guide the writing process by offering the top keywords to use for a given topic, thereby offering real-time recommendations for optimizing the content. For instance, Content Fusion, seoClarity's AI content writer, can help you understand your customer's voice with semantically related terms, enabling you to cover any topic with authority. Check out this screenshot to see how this AI-ready tool analyzes your content against other pages ranking for the same term and then offers additional keywords that need to be included. With such insights, you can create content that exceeds customer expectations, improving your E-A-T score and rank in the SERP. Further, AI-powered tools like Morphl can uncover the intent behind search queries and design high-converting experiences at every stage of the marketing funnel. Users typically look for advice, insights, product recommendations, or information about a business. Identifying the user intent can help you determine what type of content to write. For instance, if your audience is looking for advice and actionable information, you can offer them case studies that tell a unique story while establishing your authority in the domain. Thus, each piece of content is optimized for organic performance, allowing you to rank your content in the smartest possible way. 2. Optimize content for voice searchVoice search is becoming increasingly popular because virtual assistants, such as Siri and Alexa are able to respond to queries within seconds. In fact, Comscore predicts that by 2020, 50% of all online searches will be voice-based. Further, like RankBrain, Google's algorithm that uses ML and AI, these digital assistants are getting smarter each day. In other words, they are constantly listening and learning. Hence, it is becoming increasingly critical for businesses to amp-up their SEO game around voice search. Businesses need to understand the conversational journey and predict the upcoming follow-up questions users may ask. AI-powered SEO helps experts identify question keywords with search volume, understand the conversational journey, and deliver a real-time voice strategy – all of which are essential for great SEO and consumer experiences. These tools allow marketers to scale research across various locations and languages, all on one platform. Thus, you can make smart and gainful decisions quickly and seamlessly. Also, AI-ready platforms can ensure that the voice search algorithms used by Google and other tech giants have the latest information about your business. 3. Get real-time data analysis
4. Personalize like a proNew research indicates 80% of consumers prefer making a purchase when a brand offers a personalized experience. Personalizing experiences make customers feel that the enterprise cares for their needs and concerns, thereby strengthening brand loyalty and boosting customer experience. The American media-services provider, Netflix has taken personalization to a whole new level. Netflix's recommendation engine is based on AI-powered algorithms that learn about the viewers' tastes and serve the best content available in a highly personalized way. 5. Automates labor-intensive tasksSEO involves several labor-intensive tasks, namely website audits, keyword research, content optimization and distribution, tag management, rankings supervision, and backlink monitoring among others. Bottom lineAI-powered SEO can help predict customer behavior, optimize your content strategy, and unleash the true potential of real-time analytics. Using AI for SEO can fetch optimum results for your digital marketing campaigns, thereby improving your business visibility, engagement rate, and conversions. |
| The Culture and Practice Behind Agile Innovation Posted: 09 Sep 2019 10:00 AM PDT  True to the meaning of its name, agile innovation is helping businesses all over the world grow quickly and effectively. With competition growing fiercer by the minute, companies understand the need to keep growing. Agile innovation is the catalyst that helps companies really get that edge over the competition. It supercharges the focus on innovation with agile principles, enabling the organization to respond swiftly to competition and market trends. For agile innovation to be truly successful in your organization, it must become an integral part of your culture and practice. This blog will show you how you can achieve that. Agile innovation – Why so important?The agile movement as we know is a complete 180-degree turn from traditional waterfall methodologies. The focus of Agile methodologies is on swift response, incremental and iterative workflows and empirical feedback. Projects are divided into short iterations called sprints and work is accomplished rapidly and delivered as fully functional application components. Instead of waiting on a long process of analysis and feasibility studies to get started, agile methodologies rely on continuous feedback and improvement. This makes it faster and more effective than traditional methods. This gives us a nice background to understand what agile innovation is. Here's an interesting take on it: "Agile innovation is inherently about adapting and thriving on a relentless and ongoing basis." That's a powerful statement indeed. Being able to innovate quickly, economically and continuously is vital. What better way to achieve this speed of innovation than agile methodologies. By enabling rapid delivery in incremental stages, the time-to-market is greatly reduced. Studies show that the time-to-market increased by 18% to 20% for organizations who used agile methodologies. This is exactly what you need to always stay two steps ahead of the competition. Agile software Innovation is, therefore, the best thing that can happen to your business. If you want this success to be sustainable in the long run however, you will need to ensure that this spirit of agile innovation becomes part of your organizations' culture. It must be ingrained into your processes, vision and employee mindset. Here is how you can ensure that. How to create a culture of agile innovationA change in the entire processes and culture of an organization is a tall order, but of definitely isn't impossible. Agile transformation coach Gerard Chiva lets us in on the secret of making this change possible: "Structure comes first; culture follows. The problem does not lie in people not being innovative or the organizational culture being bureaucratic; it lies in the structures, processes and systems in place that stifle innovation." The secret then is to start at the core of the business and change the decision-making process and the way the business functions. Changing the mindset of organization leaders and enabling a complete decentralization through trust and self-organizing teams is key in creating a culture of agile innovation. Before we see how we can implement this culture of Agile innovation, it is important to remember that there will be challenges on the way. Lack of familiarity with Agile methodologies, resistance to change and lack of adequate support from the organization's leaders are a few challenges. These challenges can be overcome with a few key considerations: Start from the topAgile innovation must start from the highest level of the organization. Management must take the lead in innovation and spearhead the change towards a more agile culture. Employees will only be motivated to implement innovation if the organization's leaders are committed to this direction. It is also important that management be actively involved in ensuring that this change permeates through the organisation. This will only happen if as leaders, they have a full grasp of agile methodologies and practice it in their functions. There is another important reason why management must be active participants in agile innovation. Self-organization, being the very philosophy of agile methodologies, could seem like a threat to the management. They could develop a fear of losing control, which in turn could create an atmosphere of distrust. This would be fatal to the goals of Agile innovation. If they take the lead, however, it becomes a joint effort- active assistance instead of resistance. Encourage experimentation and flexibilityAgile principles have been handed over to us a time-tested and fail-proof methodology. However, this does not mean that there is only one way of doing things. The definition of the word 'principles' in the Business Dictionary is: "Fundamental norms, rules, or values that represent what is desirable and positive for a person, group, organization, or community, and help it in determining the rightfulness or wrongfulness of its actions." In keeping with this definition, Agile principles give you a basic foundation or structure to base your business functions on. This allows for a wide variety of ways in which these principles can be implemented in a business and across teams. In keeping with the principles of innovation, agile practices must evolve. In practice, therefore, agile methodologies are best implemented when employees have the freedom to experiment with their work methods. Different methods may work for different teams and departments, and that's alright. The key is to use agile principles and ensure positive outcomes. Focus on developing collective intelligenceThe importance of collective intelligence in a team has been brought out in numerous studies. This collective intelligence maximizes the effort of a team and brings out the best in team members. An article on collective intelligence brought out that this intelligence is not only the sum of all the intelligence of team members, but it is also the addition of the intelligence in relation to each other. In practice, this is evident when team members collectively come up with new ideas and concepts in addition to their individual thoughts. This is where the Scrum Master's role is very important. As a process facilitator, a Scrum Master works with the team to develop and nurture their collective intelligence. Using metrics to gauge business outcomes and engagement levels will help the Scrum Master fine-tune and cultivate this collective intelligence in the team. Build a bulture of agile innovation starting nowAn ideal agile organization will have a seamless Agile architecture, where the speed of innovation within the teams matches the pace of the entire organization. This will ensure that decisions are made swiftly and the time-to-market is exponentially reduced, keeping you way ahead of the competition. Agile innovation is not the future, it's already here and the time to start is right now. |
| Ways to Fund Your Startup Without Losing Equity Posted: 09 Sep 2019 09:00 AM PDT 
Starting a business is an invigorating, fun, scary, inspirational challenge. It also costs money. When you are starting out, all you've got is yourself. You might have a partner or two. You may have seen other entrepreneurs getting venture capital funding (or trying to, or talking about it). But if you don't have a groundbreaking product or service, VC funding is likely off the table. Other startups might be getting angel funding. Even your mom might offer a little something to get you started. But all those things come with a price: equity. VCs won't rain money on you unless they can get a part of your business in return. The same is true of angels you don't know well. It's only fair. Your mom might consider it a gift and not want anything in return. But if her gift to you goes beyond the IRS annual exclusion, the gift tax could apply. To get around this, your mom could keep her gift under $15,000, or pay the tax if she goes over it – or you could give her consideration for her cash. Again, this is equity most of the time. But what if you want to keep 100% of your business? There are options out there. Brand-new startup venturesFor super-new companies, funding that demands a minimum time in business won't work. Instead, play to your strengths; there is funding to match. Those with good personal credit? Use it to get started.If you have good consumer credit, take advantage of it to get the startup going. A good FICO score goes a long way. It shows lenders you are trustworthy and pay debts on time. It's also helpful in getting loans. Even many online lenders prefer the business owner to meet a FICO score threshold. What if you don't have such great personal credit? Guarantee with personal assets and collateral.As always, pay bills on time and in full. Never borrow beyond what you can pay back, because now, personal assets could be on the line if you pay late. Rates are often 5%, and they can even be less. Personal credit rating doesn't matter. For collateral, use your inventory, accounts receivable, a 401(k) or any stocks you own. You can also work with a credit partner and tap into their stocks or 401(k) for collateral. Startups with some time under their beltsGot some time in business? Does the company own equipment or have inventory? If so, your venture may qualify for other types of financing. Start with loans. There are many loans startups can get, and they often don't come from banks. (Pro tip: Check with your alma mater first. It may have something.)
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Private investors and alternative lendersAlmost all these programs demand two years of tax returns, which must show a profit. Private investors and alternative lenders may grant credit lines. These are a lot easier to qualify for than, say, conventional SBA loans. They also want much less documentation for approval. These alternative SBA credit lines often need good FICO scores for approval. Unlike the SBA, many of these lenders don't demand good bank or business credit for approval. Rates can be 7% or higher. Loan amounts range from $25,000 into the millions, often based on your revenues and/or profits as shown on your tax returns. At times, lenders may want other financials, such as profit and loss statements, balance sheets, or income statements. [Looking for a business loan? Check out our reviews and best picks.] Credit linesA line of credit (LOC), or credit line, is an agreement between a borrower and a bank or private investor. It establishes the highest loan balance a borrower can access. As the borrower, you can access funds from the LOC at any time, as long as you don't go over the ceiling set in the agreement. You must also meet any other conditions of the bank or investor, like making timely payments. You must have good credit, a decent amount of time in business and good financials. You can use your LOC and pay interest on what you use. This is in contrast to loans where you pay interest on the total borrowed. You can reuse credit lines, so run up a balance and pay it off, then use the available credit again. LOCs are revolving accounts like credit cards. They are also comparable to various other kinds of funding, like installment loans. Often, LOCs are not secured, much like credit cards. There are some secured credit lines, though, which are easier to get. Lines tend to offer lower rates. According to Bankrate, credit card rates average 13%, while lines average 4%. What if your personal credit is not good, and you have no guarantor? Build business credit! This makes sense even if you have good personal credit. Business credit helps you get even more money, with no personal guarantee. Startups at any stage – building business creditBusiness credit can save the day for a startup at any stage. It's a great solution if you don't have collateral, good personal credit, a guarantor or cash flow from your business. Business credit is credit in a business's name. It doesn't connect to the owner's personal credit, not even if the owner is a sole proprietor, or the only employee of the business. Hence, an entrepreneur's business and personal credit scores could be very different. Business credit helps secure your personal assets. This is even in case of legal action or business bankruptcy. There are two separate credit scores, meaning you can get two different cards from the same merchant. In effect, this doubles your buying power. Another advantage is you don't need a certain time in business, so startups can do this. For business credit, the scores only hinge on if a business pays its debts on time. You don't automatically establish business credit. You've got to work to get it. To start, build your company with fundability in mind. Make it harder for credit providers and lenders to find a reason to say no. Your business's online presenceLenders and credit providers will search for your business online. It's not good if they can't find it. Every business needs to be online. Even if you sell nothing online and your clientele isn't net-savvy, you've still got to have an online presence. This means a professional-looking website and email address. You'll need to buy the domain from a web hosting provider. Business communicationsBusiness phone and fax numbers must have a 411 listing. Your main business phone number should be toll-free. You also need a bank account dedicated to your business and nothing else. Business licensesA business must have all licenses necessary for running. This means state licenses, but it can also mean city or even county licenses. Business ID numbersVisit the IRS website to get a free EIN (employer identification number). Choose a business entity, such as corporation or LLC. It's best to incorporate; this creates a separate entity, which is rather useful if your business is ever sued. It's your choice whether your business is a C corporation, S corporation or LLC. [Read related article: How to Choose the Best Legal Structure for Your Business] You should also get a DUNS number from the Dun & Bradstreet website. It's free, although it does take longer than the EIN. Building and monitoring business creditKick off your business credit profile with reporting trade lines. These are credit issuers that give starter credit when a business has none. Get an established credit score before moving on to other kinds of credit. Monitor your business credit and update the data if it's incorrect or incomplete. Mistakes happen in business credit reports all the time. It can only help your company if you work to fix them. More options for startups at any stageCrowdfundingWould donors feel connected to your product or service? If so, then crowdfunding could work. A straightforward business might not do so well, but if you go ahead with crowdfunding, here are some quick tips. Your funding pitch will make or break your campaign. Make it as well written, informative and eye-catching as you can. You'll do best by reaching out to bigger investors beforehand. Get them to donate on the first or last days of the campaign. Big donations on the first day get the ball rolling and serve as an impressive reminder to potential donors on the last day. Federal grantsFor urban projects, try HUD grants (the Department of Housing and Urban Development). For rural projects, you can try the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Make sure to follow application requirements to the letter. State and local grantsLocal government also provides grants. You can find a list at GrantWatch, and you can also try your city's and state's websites. Entrepreneurs who are also veterans can try the Department of Veterans Affairs. You want to keep 100% of your business – and you can! Startup funding does not have to be challenging, if you know where to look. |
| 3 Ways to Leverage AI for Small Business Growth Posted: 09 Sep 2019 06:00 AM PDT  It can be tempting to think of AI as the distant future, the kind of solution that will emerge from the tech empires of Silicon Valley along with flying cars and the Hyperloop. But AI is happening today, transforming companies of all sizes all over the world. Its adoption has driven down costs and made it increasingly accessible to small and midsize businesses. Broadly speaking, AI powers the computer programs that are capable of collecting and analyzing huge volumes of data. These programs can quickly spot the connections and deliver the actions we're looking for. As a result, AI often operates semiautonomously to perform tasks such as tracking consumer behavior, taking customer queries and tabulating market data – which is why it's such an exciting time to be running a small business. The AI opportunities are stacking up fast. So how can you leverage AI? You probably already do without knowing it. Basic machine learning lets your Gmail sort messages into distinct tabs, and algorithms optimize your Spotify playlists based on your preferences. Virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa know what you're saying because they've been trained in natural language processing through vast data sets. AI is all around us. Now the question is, how can small businesses use it to their competitive advantage? Here are three ideas. 1. Complement your workforce with AI.One of the biggest benefits for small businesses is that AI can serve as your personal HR team. You might question the concept of having HR robots instead of people, but in the case of small and midsize businesses, AI can fill a role that was likely too expensive to be brought in-house in the first place. AI provides the capabilities you need without breaking the budget or putting anyone out of work. There are many HR products, such as Qualtrics and Hyphen, that can conduct automatic employee engagement surveys, take regular pulse checks for your company, and create a platform for providing, receiving and collating feedback. This lets you ensure your team is happy and fulfilled – and enables you to do it efficiently and affordably. Another pivotal benefit is that your AI-enabled HR solution can help you with recruitment. Platforms such as Entelo are designed to help your hiring process by matching candidates to job postings, discovering talent in new or unconventional places, and analyzing which of your past hiring practices have yielded the best results. Some solutions even analyze the communication styles of your candidates and advise you on how best to connect with them. Rather than bringing in HR talent before your company is ready, using AI for your human resources lets you scale up at the right pace for your business. 2. Drive efficiency in marketing and sales.AI works by analyzing data – and lots of it. That's why it can help you make the most of all available information to drive your marketing strategy and outsmart the competition. I've seen big companies employ entire teams of analysts to keep track of the competitive landscape and ensure they have an edge. In the past, that was enough to keep smaller businesses on the sidelines. Not anymore. Now you can earn your spot on the field with AI-powered tools like Crayon that monitor your competitors across multiple channels: their websites, social media and mobile apps. By noticing every change in price and product, every shift in brand tone and PR messaging, you'll gain granular insights into your competitors' strategies and start to see the gaps in their services where you can step in. It may be a no-brainer that having the inside scoop on your competitors is great, but knowing your own markets and customers can be a game-changer. AI tools, like those designed by Brandwatch, can provide insights into your market fit and help you with consumer segmentation. You can use AI platforms to identify how to connect with specific audiences through targeted advertising, and they can also manage your online campaigns to help you make informed decisions. In the past, analyzing and acting on so much information would have required a full-time data scientist, if not a third-party professional services firm – well outside the budget of most small businesses. But today, something as complex as a statistical regression analysis is well within a small business's capabilities. Of course, AI doesn't just deliver intel on how to create and manage your marketing campaigns. It can help you deploy them as well. Marketing automation solutions such as Marketo and Autopilot are almost like hiring an intern – something that not all small businesses are equipped to do. These types of platforms allow you to launch your pre-planned digital ads, social media posts, and email and mobile notifications so that they reach the right targets at the right time and continuously nurture a relationship with customers. Many of these solutions have built-in marketing analytics tools so that small businesses can track customer interactions retroactively and in real time. In a recent study, McKinsey determined marketing and sales is the area where AI will have the largest impact – and you can see why. 3. Improve your customer experience.Most exciting to me is the way AI stands to make life better for customers, connecting them with the products and services they actually want. By using an intelligent CRM system like Salesforce, you can track your customers' purchase history and reach out proactively on new product offerings – all efforts that equip your customers to make informed decisions while prioritizing their individual preferences. A 2017 Campaign Monitor consumer report found that 62% of consumers will open an email with a personalized headline, proving that CRM systems are a powerful way to listen to your customers and respond in ways that improve their experience. [Looking for CRM software? Check out our best picks and reviews.] As well as being a capable tool behind the scenes, AI can help on the front lines to provide a better experience for your customers. Virtual customer assistants and chatbots are growing in popularity. These customer-facing programs offer automated services to your clients through popup chat windows or search boxes with extensive autocomplete options. They won't replace your people anytime soon, but they can provide round-the-clock assistance, freeing your customers to connect with your services and brand whenever they happen to be online. By answering simple questions, connecting customers with resources, and automatically sorting and categorizing support tickets, AI platforms handle recurring processes so your team can focus on the more meaningful conversations with your customers. It's no wonder that Gartner predicts these technologies are about to surge, increasing from less than 2% of customer service operations in 2017 to 25% in 2020. The success of our economy depends on the success of small businesses. After all, they contribute more than half of all jobs in the United States. Luckily, AI is the great equalizer, positioning your small business to go toe-to-toe with global enterprises through the power of big data. Is your company making the most of AI? Are you ready to take the next step into a computer-enhanced future? Connect with a Dell advisor to find new areas of AI opportunity for your small business. |
| How to Cash in on Your Excess Inventory Posted: 09 Sep 2019 05:20 AM PDT 
Running a business requires wearing multiple hats. Often, one of the duties of small business owners is effectively managing inventory. Inventory management can be a challenging task. You don't want too much inventory siting idly in your business or a warehouse, but you also want enough inventory to fulfill all orders that come in. It's a tricky situation. Sometimes, it's impossible to find the inventory sweet spot. When you find that your business has excess inventory, it's easy to get concerned. Excess inventory can be a serious financial drag for any business. But what to do with excess items – no matter what they are or where they came from – can be a difficult dilemma. Selling what you have through normal channels – special sales, for example, or online – may be out of the question. After all, the reason you have the surplus is because your regular outlets haven't done the job. You may also be running out of space to continue storing the extra load. There are several tactics that can either net you a cash return on your items or a nifty tax write-off. Some of these services are places where you can buy as well as sell excess inventory. A few basic choices are:
Here's where you can go to get it done, depending on what goods you have on hand and in what quantities. Unload excess inventory in bulk, business to businessRetailers, wholesalers, manufacturers, distributors and others can sell goods via centralized liquidation auctions. For example, Liquidation.com is a B2B bulk marketplace where companies sell all kinds of excess goods. It welcomes inventory from small businesses to sell on its auction marketplace and has a track record of providing returns higher than other liquidation methods. Using inventory liquidators is an easy way to get some cash for your excess inventory. Such platforms can be a good way to get the best bang for your buck, and the auction setting can be a good way to maximize the value of your excess inventory. Net instant cash on your excess inventoryIf you need cash for your excess inventory quickly, you can avoid the bother of auctions by selling to a surplus inventory liquidator. Liquidators, Merchandise USA and Power Retailing all buy a wide range of customer-returned and excess inventory. Open a sales channel for your business on eBayIf you want to get rid of your inventory but want more control over the sales channel than you get when using an inventory liquidator, eBay is a good option. Opening a business-selling account on eBay can be a great way to sell some of your excess inventory at competitive prices. Setting up your business sellers account is free and simple. Be sure to check out the selling guide that walks you through the process with tips and advice. Visit the eBay Seller Center to get started. Donate your excess inventory for a juicy tax deductionYour incorporated business can earn an above-cost, federal income tax deduction, clear out warehouse space, avoid liquidation nightmares and help schools and nonprofits at the same time. The National Association for the Exchange of Industrial Resources takes donations of new, overstock or discontinued product and redistributes it to schools and nonprofits nationwide. Donor companies can receive an enhanced income tax deduction of up to twice the cost of the goods, courtesy of Internal Revenue Tax Code Section 170 (e)(3). NAEIR takes donations of consumer goods such as school and office supplies, toys, games, building materials, clothing, tools and much more. NAEIR also provides the paperwork to aid in filing taxes. You can deduct the cost of goods sold, as carried on your books, plus half the difference between cost (basis) and the fair market value, except that the tax deduction cannot exceed twice the cost. For example, items carried on the books at a cost of $100 that have an established fair market value of $200 may be donated, and a deduction of $150 may be taken. If, however, those items carried at a $100 cost have an established fair market value of $300, they may be donated, and a deduction of $200 may be taken. Run giveaway campaignsYou can excite customers by giving away discounted items from your excess inventory stash. This helps make your business some money, and it helps put your products in the hands of customers. "Use the excess inventory items to give out as a reward to loyal customers or those who have accumulated a certain amount of points," said Igor Mitic, co-founder of Fortunly. "Another way is to create promotions where customers are rewarded for sharing posts on Facebook or Instagram, or participating in online polls or surveys, and convert the excess inventory into marketing." Asking social media followers to share posts for discounted or even free items helps spread your business's social profiles. This can extend your brand reach and may put your business in front of new potential customers. Another option is to give the excess product or products away to influencers in your industry. They might be willing to review the product, or they'll just use it, and your business will have its product being used by an influencer in your industry. "When I was running a store, we got stuck with a little over 20 units of a specific product and didn't know what to do with it, " said Ruth Even Haim, co-founder and head of marketing at StilyoApps. "We ended up selling a few more units using post-purchase upsells and giving the rest away to small influencers who agreed to create a review of the product for free." Giving a product to an influencer is a creative way to get rid of excess inventory while still benefiting your business. If you have a lot of excess inventory, you may decide to use multiple methods of unloading it. For example, you might take some of your inventory to an inventory liquidator while keeping just a few pieces of inventory to give to influencers. Plan aheadTo avoid the problem of excess inventory in the future, consider using inventory management software to keep better track of your goods. When it comes to avoiding excess inventory, the planning process is key. "The best way to avoid excess inventory is by having excellent record-keeping, automated inventory management and only stocking top sellers," said John Dinsmore, associate marketing professor at Wright State University. Sometimes, if you have the space to store it, it's also not the worst idea to keep your excess inventory. Depending on the products your business sells, you may find that keeping excess inventory on hand isn't a problem. "Having excess inventory definitely helps by removing the risk of revenue loss due to out-of-stock issues," said Jeremy Ong, founder of HUSTLR. "This is, of course, only applicable if you have products that are nonperishable and have enough operating cash flow to support excess inventory." If your inventory is perishable, however, keeping obsolete inventory isn't feasible for your business. Local grocery stores shouldn't run giveaways to offload rotten fruit, and rotten or expired products shouldn't be donated either. For some companies, keeping obsolete inventory is very real concern. For others, keeping excess inventory isn't a major issue, because the business's products have a longer product life cycle. The bottom line about excess inventoryIf you have excess inventory, don't panic. You can use inventory liquidators, giveaways and donations to get rid of your unnecessary inventory. It can be frustrating to be stuck with merchandise that's sitting put, but there are several ways to get excess inventory off your shelves. |
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