The busy seasons are slowly approaching and for small and midsize businesses, the outlook is murky at best. Shifting focus to maximizing opportunities is essential for SMBs as the undecided economy continues to chug along. One area of control that directly affects profitability is employee wellness. Individual wellbeing challenges can negatively impact productivity as well […]
A Wellness Check-In for Small Businesses Read More »
Small business optimism took a dip recently with the NFIB reporting the August index at 91.2, down 2.5 points from the month before. Expectations for higher sales also dropped 9 percent which drove the overall declines in optimism. Still questionable economics and the US election may have been factors in those declines but for small
SMALL BUSINESS: Areas of Opportunities to Focus On Read More »
Although the coronavirus pandemic is becoming a distant memory, small and midsize businesses are still feeling the impacts of lockdowns when it comes to hiring and maintaining service levels for frontline teams. In the United States, at least 1.7 million individuals are missing from the work force and 38% of SMBs reported difficulty in hiring
Driving Efficiency and Productivity from Frontline Teams Read More »
Contact centers still play a key role in delivering customer service and consumers continue to show a preference to interacting with a live person. A survey from last year (Fit Small Business) suggested that 30% of customers were more comfortable purchasing high ticket items over the phone and the majority of consumers still look for
Highlighting Key Performance Indicators for Contact Centers Read More »
Fast adoption of the internet and the rapid evolution of mobile devices has changed most aspects of daily living but when it comes to how consumers purchase goods, the changes were seismic. Online shopping has risen in popularity and demand was supercharged during the COVID-19 shutdowns. Preferences for online shopping have grown considerably with 43%
Omnichannel is Essential for SMBs Read More »
Popularity and demand for software that utilizes Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to rise as the technology use evolves into more mainstream industries and businesses. The outlook remains positive for AI as a recent report from Forbes (https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/ai-statistics/) indicated that the AI market will realize an annual growth rate of 37.3% by 2030. This blockbuster growth
AI Technology Can Deliver Benefits to SMBs Read More »
When it comes to customer service, personalized interactions are still king and a survey from 2022 (First Orion) suggested that over half of respondents preferred having a phone option for support when an urgent issue arises. The phone is still the first tool consumers turn to when trying to solve problems or get resolution. From
Upskilling Contact Center Agents Drives Performance Read More »
Even with the increasing popularity of online shopping, in-store transactions dwarfed e-commerce business in 2023. Last year alone, in-store shopping logged $7.05 trillion in sales versus $1.24 trillion online in the United Stats (CapitalOne Shopping Research). A recent Retail Council of Canada survey indicated that 3 out of 4 consumers would prefer in-store shopping for
SMB Customer Service Check-In Read More »
Back to School officially kicks off a slew of busy seasons for retailers and customer facing businesses. A recent survey by The Retail Council of Canada indicated that 3 out of 4 consumers plan to shop back to school products in person, breathing new life into bricks and mortar operations. Spending is also forecast to
Getting Ready for the Seasons: Retailer’s Operational Check-In Read More »
Small and midsize businesses power most western economies and their size provides an operational advantage. But when it comes to challenges in productivity, SMBs feel negative impacts far greater than their larger counterparts. One of the biggest drivers of productivity and efficiency is team wellbeing and SMBs can use their smaller size to positively enhance
Team Wellbeing Impacts SMB productivity: What’s Your Strategy? Read More »