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Ways You Can Help Your Family After Death

Grieving-family

Death is a natural occurrence. However, it always strikes when we least expect it on many occasions. Therefore, bereaved members are always left with sorrow and a sense of emptiness that will never be filled. It is always a sad moment. It is during this time that many bereaved individuals fall into depression.

There are many ways in which you can help a family member cope with death, and they will be discussed in this post.

Furthermore, after death comes the question of wealth distribution among close family members. This can be a tricky section to deal with. This is where a lawyer can help. You can hire a probate lawyer to handle the cataloguing of assets and property distribution.

Here are ways of helping family members cope with death.

1. Understand what to say to a bereaved person.

Many people always worry about what to say to a grieving person. However, it is essential to remember that listening is more important. Well-meaning individuals often avoid talking about the subject or change the subject when the deceased person comes up. This is usually not recommended because the bereaved person needs to feel like their loss is acknowledged.

2. Understand the grieving process

It is important to remember that there is no right way to grieve. Grief never unfolds in an orderly manner but is an emotional rollercoaster and setbacks. Furthermore, it is important to understand that, on many occasions, grief involves extreme behaviors and emotions. Bereaved individuals often feel despair, guilt, and anger.

Therefore, understand them when they lash out at loved ones. Remember not to set a timetable for grief. Grieving has no deadline, and the bereaved should not feel pressured to move on.

3. Give practical assistance

Many grieving individuals find it hard to ask for help. They often feel guilty for receiving all the attention and may fear that they are being a burden to others.

On many occasions, a grieving person does not have the energy to call you when they need something. Thus, let them know that you will always be available if they need anything.

You may also go further and offer suggestions that will make it easier for them to identify the things they need. For instance, you could try saying, “I’m heading to the grocery store this afternoon. What should I bring you?”

4. Be consistent with the support

Even after the funeral is over, the family members will still be grieving. The length of the grieving process has no timeline. So, stay in touch with the bereaved in the long haul and do not withdraw your support. You may also offer extra support on special days that may bring up grief, such as birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays.

5. Look out for any signs of depression

It is normal if the bereaved person feels depressed and confused. This often fades away as they get over the death. However, when you notice the symptoms are not fading away as they should, you may offer to seek professional help from a grief counsellor.

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Brand Africa: A Post-COVID-19 Tourism Conundrum

Post-COVID-19 tourism recovery for Africa

By Dr Tafadzwa Matiza

This article explores the potential post-COVID-19 challenges for African tourism recovery. While considering the inherent retrospective and contemporary challenges facing the continent, a multi-stakeholder nation-branding approach may be a panacea to the post-pandemic tourism recovery problem faced by the continent.

Introduction

In 2019, the global travel and tourism sector represented 27.4 per cent of global services exports, generating upwards of US$9.2 trillion (10.4 per cent of global GDP), while creating one out of every four new employment opportunities globally and accounting for 334 million existing jobs (10.6 per cent of global employment). Worldwide revenue and job losses of up to US$4.5 trillion (-49.1 per cent) and 62 million (-18.5 per cent) in 2020, respectively, can be attributed to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Africa shedding 7.2 million travel and tourism jobs, costing the continent’s economy an estimated US$83 billion[1]. However, it is essential to acknowledge that Africa’s post-COVID-19 tourism recovery is a multifaceted conundrum, as the continent must grapple with both retrospective and contemporary challenges.

Retrospectively, pre-COVID African tourism had its inherent challenges. For instance, notwithstanding that African tourism is extensively reliant on international tourism arrivals, one sobering fact is that in 2019, at the peak of global travel and tourism, the African continent only accounted for up to 5 per cent of global international tourism arrivals[2]. Perhaps most concerning is Africa’s 5% market share, translating to just over 50 per cent of the continent’s total tourism receipts. That, combined with the world’s lowest domestic tourism receipts (49 per cent of total tourism receipts in Africa, compared to 64.9 per cent in Europe and Eurasia, 75.9 per cent in the Asia-Pacific and 80.4 per cent in the Americas regions)[3] meant that the crisis-induced moratoriums on air travel and non-essential activities such as tourism effectively halved the continent’s tourism income. Consequently, due to decimated international tourism demand, the African continent experienced a disproportionately adverse negative economic impact (-49.2 per cent) on the continent’s tourism GDP contribution and employment contraction (-29.3 per cent)1.

The COVID-19 pandemic broadly represents the contemporary challenge that has exacerbated Africa’s competitiveness deficiencies and barriers to the sustainable development of African tourism. With conservative projections suggesting that international tourism will only recover to 2019 levels in 2023/4, the global tourism industry is transitioning into a domestic-tourism-driven pandemic response and recovery phase. Furthermore, buoyed by the development and rollout of vaccines and the proliferation of non-pharmaceutical interventions to mitigate the risk of infection, the notion of domestic-tourism-driven recovery is becoming increasingly feasible for many tourism destination countries as a precursor to international-tourism recovery. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented and requires innovative approaches to evaluating and managing travel behaviour in a risky global environment. A global crisis of the proportions of the COVID-19 pandemic underlines the importance and viability of a macro model that supersedes traditional microenvironment-oriented destination recovery

Whereby, the traditional model restricts its focus to the attractiveness of a tourism destination, while being deficient in considering external competitive forces that take into account the “halo effect” that a holistic branding effort could have on African tourism.

Why branding and why now?

Nation branding (NB) is a niche, multi-stakeholder perspective on the evaluation and management of the image, perception and positioning (awareness and reputation) of a place in the minds of multiple stakeholders, including tourists. Based on six dimensions (namely, governance, culture and heritage, immigration, people, tourism and exports), the dual purpose of NB is as an explanatory framework to evaluate the image of a place and the inherent perception associated with it, as well as a decision-support model that aids in the formulation of a value proposition that positively influences how a place is perceived by its various publics. As the worst health crisis since the Second World War, and the first pandemic of the post-digital era, the COVID-19 pandemic occurred in an unprecedented information-oriented environment rife with fact and subjective alternative fact-based nuances that have shaped and, in some cases, misshaped global opinions about countries and continents.

One of the African continent’s inherent challenges has been the notion of the “dark continent”. The Afro-pessimism that stems from this notion is grounded in the negative and often outdated misconceptions associated with the pervasiveness of war, disease and poverty on the continent. Thus, Afro-pessimism refers to the predominantly negative and subjective influence of Africa’s image deficit on its economic activity, including tourism. Africa’s response to the pandemic has, to an extent, exacerbated this notion of Africa. The wholesale corruption, initial vaccine shortages, followed by the subsequent poor implementation of vaccination programmes and vaccine apathy in countries such as South Africa, Nigeria and Sierra Leone have done little to assuage existing perceptions of the continent. Hence, a concerted NB-oriented approach to Africa tourism’s post-COVID-19 recovery may be the continent’s only panacea for tourism recovery.

The Brand Africa taxonomy

Three key NB dimensions are critical in the era of COVID-19.

Governance and Immigration

Due to the pandemic, national governments and their reflexive policies have unfortunately emerged as the most significant threat to African tourism and its recovery, second only to the coronavirus. Beyond the intrinsic sociopolitical instability that is endemic to the African continent, existential threats to African tourism are the arbitrary travel bans and “red listings” that have become synonymous with travel and tourism to the continent. For instance, in 2021, just before South Africa’s international tourism peak season (November–January), travel to and from South Africa and its neighbouring states was banned within 48 hours of South Africa announcing the discovery of the Omicron variant – albeit prematurely[4]. Within two weeks, travel to and from Africa was banned by over 70 countries. These measures proved to be neither effective nor consequential to stemming the spread of new COVID-19 variants across the globe, since, as it later emerged, the variant was discovered in Europe weeks before South Africa’s discovery. Colourful epithets such as “Africa last in line for vaccines, first in line for travel bans” are pretty telling when it comes to the importance of governance and public policy in the era of COVID-19.

People

African people’s experiences with disease outbreaks such as the HIV/AIDS outbreaks of the early 1990s and the ever-present and ominous threat of the Ebola virus have tempered how Africans are perceived globally for the better part of the last two decades. The COVID-19 pandemic is, unfortunately, no exception. The xenophobia attached to the virus first gave rise to the anti-Asian sentiment that swept across the Western world. However, it appears as though this has shifted to anti-African sentiment. The “discovery” of the Omicron variant by South African scientists ignited a wave of travel bans against African countries and moratoriums on Africans and people who had visited certain African countries.

Tourism

Based on experience from previous disease outbreaks, depending on the severity and pervasiveness of the health crisis, tourism recovery periods range between 10 and 34.9 months[5]. As global tourism seeks to stabilise international travel and tourism, supra-national organisations such as the UNWTO have propagated the pivot towards domestic tourism as a stopgap measure for international tourism demand constraints. Most traditional tourist source markets, such as China, have done so with varying levels of success. However, while most major tourism destination countries engage in domestic-tourism-driven recovery, the African countries may not be as viable or sustainable as domestic tourism markets. Domestic tourism on the African continent is inhibited by a myriad of factors, including poor internal tourism marketing, African tourists’ penchant for outbound international travel and tourism, and the underlying endemic poverty on the continent. For instance, Sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA) population of 1.1 billion people is spread across 46 countries, with some of the major tourism destination countries in SSA (Nigeria, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe) being in the top 10 African nations that account for 75 per cent of the continent’s poorest people[6].

Post-COVID-19 tourism recovery for Africa?

Different stakeholders must collaborate to accelerate tourism recovery in Africa, so as to catalyse both global and domestic tourism in order to mitigate the challenges ahead. NB offers an integrative approach to Africa’s tourism recovery. The inextricable link between global events and the tourism sector suggests that Africa’s tourism recovery, post-pandemic, is predicated on several non-tourism-related multi-stakeholder issues both within and outside the purview of the continent itself. As the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated, beyond the imminent risk posed by such a crisis event, the response, or the lack of planning for it, may pose an even more significant threat to African tourism and its recovery. In the future, the following considerations may be made.

  • Institutional and environmental weaknesses in African states dependent on tourism must be addressed as a matter of priority. Careful and considered proactive and reactive government policies and international community engagement will go a long way towards aiding the recovery of African tourism post-pandemic. This will require various stakeholders to engage in public diplomacy to protect both the citizens of a country and the integrity of other nations, while promoting safe and responsible tourism. This extends to vaccine diplomacy as a critical component of governance, which considers the plight of the African continent.
  • There needs to be a paradigm shift in how the rest of the world perceives Africans to allay potential crisis-induced xenophobia. It is, therefore, imperative that Africans get vaccinated as a matter of civic duty to support initiatives to return to some semblance of ‘normalcy’. However, the media’s influence on vaccine uptake and hesitancy in Africa will play a critical role in promoting vaccination and communicating advances in this respect to the rest of the world with as much enthusiasm as adverse reports of the continent dictate.
  • African tourism must reopen to international travellers once it is reasonable, safe and responsible to reopen. The African continent cannot afford a false start when reopening for international tourism. The proper health and safety measures need to be in place (contemporary “untact” tourism products and processes in line with global standards, implemented health and safety protocols such as socially distanced tourism activities, clearly articulated mask and sanitising mandates), based on a multi-sectoral approach across the spectrum of the African tourism value chain. This responsible reopening is also predicated on a concerted NB-oriented crisis communications strategy to effectively communicate the readiness of African destination countries to welcome tourists, including the measures in place to reassure them about their safety and security.

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About the Author

Dr Tafadzwa Matiza

Dr Tafadzwa Matiza is the Senior Lecturer in Tourism at the Tourism Research in Economics, Environs and Society (TREES) research unit of the North-West University, South Africa. Prior to being a full-time researcher, he was a lecturer in marketing management at various South African universities. To date, he has published several academic articles in various international journals.

References

Overview About Sales Commission Calculator

Financial accounting with tax documents, pen and calculator. The concept of business and finance.

One of the most common and essential questions facing business owners is how to calculate sales commissions. This Sales Commission Calculator is a simple solution that goes beyond software requirements set by many employers.

Meaning of Sales Commission

A sales commission is the percentage of cash-on-hand made from a sale. According to the company’s policy, it’s shareable with a manager or between a specific number of employees. If you work in a company with no commissions, you are not entitled to one either.

A sales commission is a fee paid to an employee for generating income for their employer. Many different methods and formulas get used to calculate the commission, but it depends on what type of company you’re working for. Some employers may only pay their employees a commission if they achieve 10% or more in sales. Others may only give employees a commission if they sell 100 products in one day. Still, experts highly recommend you should choose to work with the best enterprises. If you think it’s challenging to spot the best, understand that the best is relative to your needs. Therefore, we suggest conducting deep research for: “moving companies near me”.

How to calculate the sales commission

Sales commission is the amount of money a salesperson or manager keeps for selling a certain number of units. The amount is different for every company, and it is measurable by multiplying the salesperson’s salary by the number of units sold.

A sales commission is how much a salesperson gets paid to sell a product. Sales commissions are calculated by taking the gross profit of the item and multiplying it by 15%. This percentage depends on the variety of sold products.

For example, for a $108 profit on an item and a commission of 10%, the salesperson would get $1.50 for every sale. Furthermore, another helpful approach to your users would be implementing the translation of a text to describe better all the steps of the process.

Tips for using an automatic sales commission calculator

A sales commission calculator is a tool that can help you determine how much a commission check should be. These calculators are typically in Excel or Google Docs and will calculate percentages based on the number of hours worked, how many days you work each week, and the daily rate for your job. Nonetheless, you should be knowledgeable about using these tools to avoid any undesirable shocks at the end of the year.

Using an automatic sales commission calculator is a great way to get accurate figures. There are many online commission calculators that you can find, and they will all work the same. This is because the company sets the formula for calculating sales commission, so there’s not as much variation in its application. Depending on your company, you may want to use a different calculator or adjust the formulas accordingly.

Conclusion

The blog post ends with a conclusion of the story that shows how important and helpful it is for employees to understand the sales commission system. This blog will help employees get the most out of their sales commission.

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How To Avoid Overpaying For Your Business Utilities

Utility

Most businesses spend a lot of money each year on gas and electricity bills. By understanding your business’s energy bills, you will be able to cut down on unnecessary costs.

We investigated how you can prevent your business from overpaying on utility bills, and also investigated how a business can cut down on carbon emissions and be more sustainable.

How to prevent overpaying on your utility bills

1) Understand your Utility Bill

If you conduct a business energy assessment, your energy advisor will point out areas where your business could be more energy efficient. The advisor will explain your energy usage and what you are being charged for.

Utility bills consist of two sections:

1) Delivery

Your delivery charges include the costs to your energy supplier to supply you with electricity, and the costs of maintaining the distribution network, such as pipelines and electricity lines. A business cannot do much about the delivery fees. 

2) Supply

Supply charges are what you actually use, and include direct charges to you as the customer, a distribution charge, a charge based on the demand of the resource, and an efficiency program charge.

A business can lower supply charges by cutting down on office equipment that relies on resources, or switching suppliers.

2) Find the best energy companies

Due to the competing nature of utility providers, many suppliers offer low prices initially and lure in customers that way, only to increase prices or have plenty of hidden costs.

The best energy suppliers for small businesses or medium-sized businesses will meet the following criteria:

  • Communicate with you if you are presented with any issues with your utility bills.
  • Offers solutions to any problems you may have when it comes to your business energy needs.
  • Are completely transparent when it comes to costs included on your bills.
  • Willing to negotiate a better deal and offer consistent prices.
  • Helps your business to take advantage of energy market conditions.
  • Willing to offer you energy-saving options.

Working with a reliable energy supplier is the best way to avoid overpaying on your utility bills as they will be completely transparent about what you are paying and why, and will be willing to work with you to decrease your costs.

For education on your utility bill, you can seek advice from Utility Bidder.

Ways to cut down on consumption and save money on utilities

1) Fix leaks

Fix any leaky taps or toilets at your business premises to help you cut down on your water usage. In the long run, this will save your business a lot of money.

2) Get low-flush toilets

If you own the building your business is in, then upgrade the toilets to low-flush cisterns to save money. You can save about 7% on your water bill this way.

3) Use low-energy lightbulbs

Switching to low-energy or LED lightbulbs will use about 75% less electricity than incandescent lightbulbs.

4) Improve insulation

If your business has to run heating throughout winter, then add an insulating layer to your windows to retain heat better. This will cut down your heating bill significantly.

5) Stick to cooler temperatures

Turning down your thermostat in winter is an easy way to use less electricity or gas for heating. It is suggested that you will save 3% per degree you turn it down.

6) Unplug what you are not using

If you are not using items at the office, like the microwave, your laptop, and even the printer, unplug them completely.

7) Check your bill

Even if you have a trusting utility provider, make sure to check your bill for any mistakes. There might be some extra chargers that do not match your own meter. Always be willing to ask questions.

Final Thoughts

If you understand your utility bill and you work with a reputable and trustworthy supplier, you most likely won’t overpay on your utilities. You can also implement the above suggestions to cut down on unnecessary expenditures.

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How to Ensure Employee Satisfaction at a Workplace

Employee Satisfaction

Employees are the most important asset any business can have. Without them, your company simply cannot grow or develop further. Taking care of your employees is, therefore, of vital importance for the success of your business. However, most employers don’t know how to properly ensure employee satisfaction at the workplace. 

Sure, you may take your employees down to the local bar so you can all check out the Kentucky derby odds and have a few drinks. But that’s not a long-term strategy is it? What you should consider is not just how to make your employees happy for one day but throughout their career in your company. With that in mind, here’s how to ensure employee satisfaction at a workplace. 

Introduce more flexibility

Flexibility is one of the most important factors that employees look for. In fact, workplace flexibility is more important than salary increase. By providing more flexibility to your employees, you can guarantee their long-term satisfaction. But how does that work actually? 

For example, allowing remote work is one way to make the workplace more flexible. Let’s be honest, you don’t need employees to sit at an office all the time. 

You can let them work from home when they need to so they can save money on commuting and focus on their work-life balance. Moreover, flexible work hours are also quite beneficial as they allow employees to schedule their days as they see fit. 

Appreciate the work they do

Employees who work on helping the company achieve its goals will lose motivation and productivity over time if their work goes unnoticed. As an employer, it’s your responsibility to make sure they don’t feel that way. 

You may think that employees are tools that can easily be replaced but when faced with major turnovers, you might reconsider your views. 

Therefore, make sure that you give your employees the praise they deserve so they know that you appreciate the work they do. Rewarding them for a job well done is also a good way to ensure their long-term satisfaction, especially when they manage to reach a milestone or overcome a major business challenge. 

Invest in your employees

If you want to ensure employee satisfaction, the best thing to do would be to invest in them. That includes helping your employees learn new skills or hone existing ones. This will also help you to involve employees more in the business decision-making process and provide them with an opportunity to advance in their careers. 

Such opportunities create loyalty and trust within the company and ensure that employees are happy and satisfied. That said, employees are more related to consumers than executives. Their feedback can prove invaluable for your business strategy.   

Closing Words

Satisfied employees help any business grow. They are the core of your company after all. Ensuring their satisfaction can bring numerous advantages to your business so make sure you keep your employees happy. 

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What is a Good Rate of Return on a Rental Property Business

Return on a Rental Property Business

As a property owner, what is a good rate of return on a rental property business? With so many terminologies and figures to keep tabs on, keeping track of your profits can become a challenge. Even seasoned investors with money coming in and out of several properties might struggle to determine which of their properties is performing poorly or excellently. 

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of how to determine your rate of return, we highly recommend you hire a property manager to assist you with your business. These highly-skilled professionals can help monitor your expenses and track your income, which you’ll need to determine a property’s performance. 

How to Calculate ROI

Calculating your property’s ROI might seem intimidating, but it’s pretty easy if you have the right numbers. Some of the details you might need include the property, mortgage, rental income, and monthly expenses. Once you have these crucial figures, you can either input them into an online ROI calculator or use one of the following methods:

  • Net Operating Income (NOI): This figure represents your total income less your operating expenses. While it measures your net revenue, it is only the basis for determining rental property success.
  • Capitalization Rate: Cap rate is a popular metric in the real estate market because it accurately compares different investments. You may calculate it by dividing your NOI by the property price. The higher your cap rate, the more reward you stand to gain, but it also means the more risk you bear. 
  • Cash-on-cash Return: You calculate your cash-on-cash return by dividing your NOI by the amount spent on acquiring a property. It represents the relative value of your investment.
  • Annual Cash Flow: For a yearly projection of your property’s profit, deduct your debt from your NOI. This metric is the best for investors in hidden real estate investment opportunities like house flipping.  

What is a Good Rate of Return

As an investor, after calculating your ROI, the next question you should ask yourself is, what does this figure mean? In other words, if you have a cash-on-cash return of 20% on a $100,000 SFU, is that good or bad? Unfortunately, there isn’t a single answer to that question. Different investors have their benchmarks for the success or failure of their property. An ROI of 9% might be ideal for a risk-averse landlord, considering their investment is newer and stands to appreciate over time. 

However, an excellent judge of your property’s performance is the rate of return on similar properties in nearby neighborhoods. If you’re not satisfied with your property’s performance, you might have to evaluate some of the factors affecting your ROI. 

Factors that Can Affect the Rate of Return

  • Rental Expenses

Calculating your net operating income means deducting your rental expenses from your rental income. In other words, the higher the cost of maintaining your rental property, the lower your yield. These expenses may fall into one of two categories: fixed fees such as insurance and property taxes; and variable costs like repairs.

  • Taxes

Another factor that can affect your rate of return is your taxes. For example, property taxes are fees owners pay on their houses. This fee varies from one county to the next and one property type to the other. In other words, if you have identical SFUs in different neighborhoods, one might yield a higher return than the other because of local taxes. Also, if you’re not filing your taxes correctly, you could be losing out on the opportunity to include valuable deductibles. 

  • Interest Rates

Most landlords rarely pay out of pocket and rely on other means of financing their investment. Conventional bank or private loans incur interest which adds to your rental expenses. Although mortgage fees are tax-deductible, they’re still a considerable cost to consider and can even make investing in real estate impossible. Simply put, lower interest rates encourage more investors to join the market, which means an increase in returns.

  • Weather

Weather and climate often play a role in the rate of return for many investors. Warmer seasons like spring and summer are more likely to encourage prospective tenants to get out of their houses and look for other options. However, vacancies tend to peak around winter, when most people would rather stay put wherever they are. Thus, such extended vacancies can weigh down your monthly rate of return as the weather cools.

Conclusion

Knowing what a good rate of return on a rental property business is essential to ensure your investments are performing well. Without a proper record of your ongoing expenses and income, calculating your ROI by any means would be extremely tedious. Consequently, it would be next to impossible to determine the success of your business or what factors might be affecting your return rates. However, hiring a property manager can ease your landlord’s journey by helping you analyze your returns and maximize your investments. 

  • Baker, Dean. 2007 Housing bubble update: 10 economic indicators to watch. Center for Economic and Policy Research, 2007.

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How to Improve Your Online Payment Processing

Online Payment Processing

Ecommerce is worth nearly £100bn to the UK economy.

More shoppers than ever are turning to online to buy goods and services from the comfort of their own home.

Internet sales in the UK now account for around 27% of all retail sales.

While that might be down from the record high of 38% in January 2021 when the UK was in the midst of another COVID-19 lockdown, it’s still significantly higher than the pre-pandemic levels of January 2020 when internet sales accounted for 20% of all sales.

Online payments processing opens your business up to a world of opportunities to make more money.

But only if you’ve got the best online payment processing in place.

Without it, you’ll have a clunky payment process that won’t only fail to make you more money, but could actually cost you money, and damage your reputation in the process.

Here we look at how you can improve your online payment processing to make more money and improve your business’ reputation with customers.

But first…

What do you need to start taking online payments?

Merchant Account

A merchant account allows you to take and process card payments.

When a customer makes a card payment, the merchant account sends the details to the bank card provider to be verified.

When verified, the account will let you (the business) and the customer know the payment has gone through.

It makes accepting card payments a lot easier and more secure.

To set up a merchant account you first need to think about what popular bank cards you’ll accept and the payment model you’ll use (in-store, online or over the phone – or a combination of all three).

You also need to be aware of the turnover and credit background of your business.

This can affect the rates you’ll be offered by the merchant account provider, so it’s good to get to grips with it before you go looking.

You need a business bank account to be able to accept payments through a merchant account, so set one up if you don’t have one already. If you’re on the lookout for a new account, NewLLC compared the best online business banks for small businesses very recently.

You then need to apply for an account through a provider. 

Payment Gateway 

A payment gateway is crucial for accepting online payments.

When a customer goes to checkout, they’re directed to a payment gateway, which is the card terminal of the online world.

The customer enters their card details for the payment to be authorised.

All this information is stored on the gateway and not by the business, meaning the customer’s details are safe and you won’t be responsible for keeping their data secure.

Being able to take payments online means your products and services are not limited by location or opening hours, giving you a much wider audience.

By using our payment gateway, you can expect affordable prices and a merchant account included.

Get in touch now for a free quote and support to get the right payment gateway for you.

How to improve your online payment processing in 7 easy steps

1. Make sure your website is secure

Without a secure website, you’re unlikely to have much online success.

Make sure you have an SSL certificate to authenticate your website and enable an encrypted connection.

These can be set up when you purchase your website domain.

When it comes to online payments, it’s important you have an SSL set up as it will ensure secure transactions.

It prevents information that is transferred between two systems from being shared.

You know your website is secure when you see the closed padlock sign next to your URL in the search bar.

This also shows customers that they can trust your website and anything on it, including online payments.

2. Use ‘pay as guest’

Having a ‘pay as guest’ option is really helpful for customers when it comes to making a purchase online.

Some consumers might only be shopping with you as a one off and they don’t want to go through the hassle of creating an account.

Allowing this means customers can make a quick purchase without having to receive regular marketing emails and promotions.

Because of this, your website will be more appealing to customers, as they can buy things quickly and easily.

3. Only collect the details you need to complete the transaction

There are many companies that use the fact a customer is buying something as a way of collecting loads of information for future marketing.

All this does is alienate the customer and risk them walking away from the purchase because there are too many things to fill in and agree to.

By collecting the minimum amount of information you need for the customer to complete a purchase, you make the process a lot simpler and easier.

You can then ask for additional information after the payment has been accepted, such as saving an email address to receive seasonal offers.

4. Use field error messages

Yes, you do want to make the payment section of the purchase as hassle free as possible for the customer, but you still need to make sure you get all the key information you need to verify the sale.

By using field error messages, customers will be alerted when a section hasn’t been filled out properly.

You need to make sure this is obvious to users so they know where they’ve gone wrong.

Use a highlighted message over the incorrect field so your customer knows what they’ve missed out or filled in incorrectly.

5. Add one click payment for repeat customers

When customers go through the process of entering all their details, including name, address and any relevant bank details, you should include the option to securely save these details for any future purchases.

If you have regular customers who’ve chosen to create an account, creating a ‘one click’ payment option will make things a lot quicker and easier.

By offering this, it saves the customer entering all their payment details again and makes the purchase more convenient.

Because of how quick and easy it will be for customers, it’ll reduce the chances of them changing their mind.

6. Use abandoned cart messages

Sometimes a customer will put items in an online basket, get distracted by something and then forget to come back.

Obviously, you want to do what you can to encourage customers to make a purchase from you.

By sending them an email or text reminding them they’ve got items in their cart is a proven way to get them to complete the purchase.

It’s been found that 40% of abandoned cart emails are opened, which is a high percentage when it comes to email marketing.

10% of the customers who open these emails are likely to visit their cart and continue with the purchase, so it’s worth having a go to bring back those customers.

7. Accept multiple payment methods

It can be quite annoying going to make an online purchase and seeing the retailer doesn’t have your preferred payment method available.

By the end of 2020, over 17 million people had registered for mobile payments.

Another popular method of payment that can increase conversions is a ‘buy now pay later’ service like Klarna and Clearpay, which enables customers to spread the cost of purchases over a few months.

37% of Brits have said they use these services when making an online purchase, so it’s clearly favoured by many.

You shouldn’t limit your business on the types of payments you accept, as you’ll be closing yourself off from potential customers.

It’s important these options are clearly displayed in the checkout section, so customers are made aware of them.

See the benefits of online payment processing with Handepay

Online payment processing is only becoming more important for businesses everywhere.

With over 75% of people shopping online once a month, it’s important that businesses cater to customers’ needs.

Choose Handepay now to help you accept online payments.

With affordable prices and 24/7 support, you’re guaranteed success.

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B2B And B2C – 4 Differences Every Marketer Needs To Know About

Whether you’re advertising your business or you’re an agency serving your clients, it’s vital for you to understand the key differences between B2B and B2C marketing. For both B2B and B2C audiences, marketers strive to offer the shopper an authentic and customer-centric experience. To summarise, when marketing to B2B buyers, your strategy should be focused on brand values, building long-term relationships with customers, and maintaining open communication to understand their business challenges and requirements. As a B2C company, your marketing efforts should be focused on the needs of the consumer.

However, in B2B marketing, you need to target a specific person or a small group of people within a company. With B2B, you have to sell to everyone involved in the buying decision. In B2C, you typically sell to people who are buying it for themselves, friends, family, or other members of their family. Although you are still selling a product to one person, experience shows that the difference between these two types of markets is huge.

Generally, less money is spent on B2C consumers to get the desired results. B2B sells services and products directly to other businesses while B2C caters to consumers for personal use and makes buying decisions based on emotion. Most commonly, B2B marketing (also known as business to business) focuses on purchasing decisions based on logical processes, while B2C marketing (also known as business to consumer) focuses on emotionally driven purchasing decisions.

Because they sell their products, services, or solutions exclusively to other companies, B2B marketers direct all of their marketing efforts to the people or teams who make purchasing decisions on behalf of their companies. Essentially, B2B marketing aims to satisfy the needs, wants, interests, and concerns of people who make purchases on behalf of their organisation, thereby turning the organisation into a customer. B2C businesses focus on the needs, interests, and concerns of individual consumers who shop on their own (consumer).

The customer bases of B2B and B2C companies are very different and therefore two different marketing strategies are required. Unlike B2B companies, B2C companies operate in a large-scale market and their goal is much broader.

When sales and marketing work together, B2B and B2C companies can look forward to closing more deals and achieving faster revenue and profit growth. With a deep understanding of B2B and B2C marketing strategies, you can easily apply these tactics and increase lead generation and revenue for your business. B2C and B2B marketing management approaches also differ in how they motivate shoppers.

To engage with B2B customers, marketers need to plan events such as webinars, conduct surveys, promote case studies, write e-books and white papers, and create a wealth of content that can help develop business strategies. If you are a B2B marketer, chances are you will find it difficult to communicate your product or service in an easy to understand way because you may think that your customers have certain B2B marketing expectations.

Branding is part of B2B marketing, but more often than in the B2C world, it’s done through relationship building. Instead of focusing on how a product saves consumers time, money, or effort, B2C marketing focuses on creating an emotional connection with potential customers. B2C campaigns can reach any potential customer who is interested in their product, even if that person is not theoretically a customer.

B2C companies can benefit from talking to an in-house decision maker, especially on big issues like vacations or new cars, but they don’t have to go to just one unit member to get results. B2B companies can sell the product to the CEO or business decision maker, as well as the marketer or tech person who will use the product. Companies that sell solutions serve customers who are individual consumers intent on purchasing what they offer for their own purposes.

Entrepreneurs-

B2B companies are more likely to want to buy services or products from an expert who understands their terminology, processes, and even the decisions they need to make during the buying process. When you turn to B2B, you will realise that companies are working hard to make the buying process easier and save time and money.

B2B (business to business) marketing involves a company whose primary customer is another company rather than ordinary consumers. Business to consumer (B2C) is a term used to describe a business relationship between a business and at least one consumer. Keep in mind that whether you are B2B, B2C or B2X, digital marketing is always a means to reach the end customer.

If you want to really granulate your campaigns, you need to understand the nuances between marketing to individual customers and business. Everything from long-term goals and branding to decision making will vary with each marketing campaign. The approach to each audience is unique, because the buying behaviour, attitudes and needs of individual consumers differ from corporate buyers.

Either way, we as marketers need to consider our end audience and ask who is buying or making the purchasing decision. We believe there is a sort of cultural demand among corporate buyers to demonstrate that they only make rational, business- oriented decisions.

The need for recognition means that no matter what business you are in, you must first determine what your target customers need. First, your target audience varies depending on the type of business you have.

Find out what your average buying cycle is and plan your marketing accordingly. You truly understand the needs of your customers and tailor your marketing efforts based on what best suits those needs.

Knowing when to use them is vital to your marketing and sales success. Marketers play an important role in product positioning, building brand/product awareness, generating leads through contests, sweepstakes, etc. 

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How to Make Money Online Best Ways in 2022

Make money

The modern world gives us opportunities not only for online communication and entertainment but also for work and making money. One of the possible ways is trading, but where to start? We at Copy Trade will introduce you to the financial market and help with the management of investments. If you would like to learn more about candle reversal and other features, start with this brief manual.

Basic for Beginners

A trader buys and sells via an online exchange, such as https://www.jointherealworld.com/. It is kind of a market: you come with your product, which you bought previously, and try to sell it more expensively to make money on the difference. For example, one bought an Apple stock for $30 and sold it for $80.

The task of a trader is to buy a stock that can rise in price and sell one that can fall.

To do this, the trader uses two types of analysis – technical and fundamental:

  • The first is the analysis of the schedule. It provides 85% of success. For example, if a stock went up for a long time and quickly, it will have a ‘reversal’ at some point — growth and speed will begin to slow down. Often, prices ‘draw’ figures on the chart. The trader analyzes them and understands where the stock will move. If a trader correctly determines its movement according to the chart, one will be able to earn both on growth and a fall.
  • The second analysis is the news and financial performance of companies for three months or a year. For example, during the 2016 US presidential race, Hillary Clinton said that if she wins, all private prisons in America will be closed. Immediately after that, stocks of private prisons fell from an average of $35 to $14. But when it was announced that Trump won, the price began to rise and returned to the same level in two weeks. This is how politicians’ statements and news influence the stock market. By analyzing them, a trader can buy or sell a share in time.

Trading is one of the few businesses that give you the chance to start with small funds and grow into millions. At the same time, the trader does not depend on other people. There is only a trader and a computer, and on the other side, there are the same people who want to earn money. This is a legal activity, and the trader pays taxes on income.

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5 Threats to Your Small Business to Avoid

risk

Being a business owner is tough and you have a lot of responsibilities on your plate. One of the most important ones is protecting your business. You know that the safety of your company lies in your hands, but what exactly are the threats you need to be worrying about?

You don’t need to be up all night worrying about all the various threats you might be facing, but it’s a good idea to be prepared in order to save yourself from financial issues or other consequences.

Here are a few common business threats and what you can do to avoid them.

Internal Theft

Unfortunately, every company is vulnerable to internal threats, one of which is theft from your own employees. When you’re working with a smaller team, this is typically less of a problem, but still something that should be watched over.

Many small businesses don’t conduct an intense hiring process including background checks and extensive interviews. These are some things you can do to ensure you know who you’re hiring. However, there are a few other tips to prevent employees from stealing from you.

Corporate Espionage

Another type of stealing within the business world is the stealing and leaking of data and business information. Although you might only think of large organisations where corporate espionage is involved, this is a threat that can impact small businesses too.

Once again, being careful during your hiring process is a crucial step to take, but making sure to have some security measures in place is another useful tip that will be discussed later in this article.

Cyber Attacks

In modern times, businesses are more online than offline. This means that a breach in your systems could spell disaster for your business in various capacities. For example, important data could be lost or leaked, compromising your customers’ and business’s safety.

From large corporations to small start-ups, any business is vulnerable but there are ways to protect yourself against cybercrime.

Break-Ins and Robberies

Of course, threats are not all online. If your small business has a physical location such as n office or warehouse where supplies or products are stored, there is always the threat of a break-in or robbery.

To avoid this and protect yourself in the event that it does happen, install a reliable security system to monitor and protect the premises. A 24-hour surveillance camera will help you keep an eye on things and an alarm system will alert you to intruders and even scare them off. Some home security systems even have live monitoring security guards that will talk to and warn perpetrators. 

Employee Injury

You’re also at risk if one of your employees ends up getting injured in the workplace. If the injury was caused by some neglect on your behalf, it could end u costing you loads of money, not to mention having to replace that employee for the duration that they are unable to work.

Avoid injuries in the workplace by properly training your staff and providing safety measures and protective gear wherever they might be needed.

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