- Go Green
It pays to be an eco-friendly business. You do not just get the approval and support of like-minded customers but you also get to save money. There are several ways going green can help save money in your business organization. One is that becoming an eco-friendly company requires that you have to be watchful of your energy consumption and reduced energy use means lesser electricity bills. You should make it a habit among your employees to turn off lights and electronic equipment that are not in use to reduce your energy usage. If you have to replace your lighting, go for energy efficient compact fluorescent lamps. You should also buy computers, printers and fax machines that have the energy star label to ensure you are buying high quality equipment that use less electricity. Green businesses also try to avoid wastes that are not just toxic to the environment but are costly as well. Instead of providing disposable cups in your water or coffee station, encourage your employees to bring their own cup. You do not just reduce the waste that your company produces when you stop using disposable cups; you can also reduce your expenses.
- Employ New Strategies to Win Customers
Businesses often advertise to win new customers. Unfortunately, paying for ad spaces and commercial time slots on TV and radio can be very costly so you need to find effective but budget friendly ways to promote your products and services. If you plan to cut costs on your marketing campaigns, you can reduce your advertising expenses and encourage your existing customers to spread word about your business instead. You can reward customers who are able to help you for their efforts. If a loyal customer refers a new customer to your company, for example, you can give him a gift certificate or a special discount when he buys some of your items. You may also want to use the internet to promote your business. You can set up a Facebook page and promote your products and services online.
- Sell Your Goods on the Internet
If you want to increase your sales without increasing your operational costs, use the internet to sell your products and services. You can sell your goods online using web based auction sites such as eBay. You can also set up your own business website.
- Find Cost Effective Business Tools
Do an assessment of the tools that you use in your business and find out if you have cheaper options for these tools. If you are spending a lot of money on software products, for example, you may want to check out open source software. A number of open source software is as good as premium software and you can download them for free. You can stop paying for software that you use for your accounting, word processing and customer relationship management because there are free alternatives to these. If you spend too much on your phone expenses, you may also want to check out web based phone service providers because they offer more cost effective phone solutions to their customers. You get to save more if you use an internet based phone service than when you use your landline or cell phone to place calls to your clients and business stakeholders.