Published on: 18 August 2018
Last Updated on: 21 June 2021
Construction companies have historically gotten new clients primarily through referrals. However, sometimes referrals are not enough – but unfortunately, companies cannot expect customers to magically appear on their doorstep.
Luckily, there are other creative ways that contractors can boost their clientele. If your business is struggling to engage new clients, then consider the following tips to reach more potential customers and increase your profits.
1. Introduce Yourself to the Neighborhood :
When working on a project don’t be afraid to introduce yourself to the residents of the neighboring houses. Showing concern for the wellbeing and satisfaction of the whole neighborhood lets everyone know that you run a caring organization. If those neighbors ever need any services in the future they will remember the personal interactions that they had with your company.
Additionally, if any neighbors need work done immediately you could offer them a neighbor discount. You will save money on transportation by working on two projects near each other so that the discount will not hurt your profits.
2. Educate the Public :
Organize meetings with members of the public to teach them about construction techniques or anything related to your field that you have expertise in. Investing in the education of the general public increases your profile. It also helps your business for the public to see you as an expert in your line of work.
You do not need to try to specifically market your business. When they have questions or concerns in the future about construction projects they will come to you for advice and possibly to even do the job. You could potentially partner with a local restaurant to provide food to engage with the public even further.
3. Follow-Up with Your Current Clients :
Offer to be of service to your past and current clients. See how the project you did for them is holding up. Offer to make touch-ups. Keeping up with connections you have made in the past will keep you in the forefront of your clients’ minds.
This will make your clients more likely to think of you again for future projects and to recommend you to anyone else they know who may need contracting help. This is a roundabout way to get referrals without directly asking for them.
4. Focus on Achieving Accreditations :
Accreditations can help build the prestige of your company; especially if you study for and gain a contractor’s license. The more you can show your clients that you are qualified and experienced the more likely they will be to employ your services.
Learning more things can never hurt you either. Getting more training can really help you to get ahead in business. You will be better able to serve your clients and your clients will easily be able to see that you have the qualifications to get the job done right. Additionally, it may be a good idea to send out press releases when you do receive an accolade to make sure that the public is aware of your recent achievement.
5. Attend Industry Events :
Attending industry events can help you to stay up to date with the latest trends in the construction industry. They also can help renew your motivation and interest in your field.
Being surrounded by like-minded individuals can help you to feed off their industry. Additionally, the right events can help to introduce you to people who can expand your business and help you to get in contact with new potential clients.
The construction industry needs to acquire new clients just like any other industry does. However, since many contractors spend a significant amount of time out in the field, they cannot spend as much time in the office or in prospecting meetings. They may need to employ some more creative tactics such as the ones above.
Hopefully, the techniques described above will help you and your business to come in contact with some new potential customers that will help your company to grow and prosper.
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Giving gift cards is the tried and tested formula for keeping customers happy. You can give a gift and plastic business cards to attract new customers, increase brand awareness and improve sales.
To make a lasting impression, you should consider giving away plastic gift cards. These cards are not just visually stunning, but they are also more durable as compared to the traditional low-quality paper cards.
You will make a good impression on your customers by giving them a plastic gift card.
Here are seven reasons you should consider giving plastic gift cards instead of paper gift cards to your customers.
Reasons To Gift Plastic Business Cards To Your Customers
There are several reasons why you must gift plastic business cards to your customers are as follows:-
1. Appealing Design
The design of a card can say a lot of things about your business. Plastic cards are high-quality cards that will have a positive impact on your customers.
These cards come in a wide variety of colors, making them visually appealing. The card will make your business appear special and better than the rest. It will also make your prospective customers more inclined to keep the card instead of throwing it away in the dustbin.
2. Effective Branding Tool
You can use the plastic gift card as a branding tool. Customers can associate the card with quality. By giving plastic business cards, you will stand apart from other businesses.
The cards will communicate to the customers that you value them. The decision to be a bit different when distributing gift cards will reverberate positively on prospective customers.
3. Durable Material
Plastic business cards are more durable and resilient. The card can withstand getting wet, being folded or stepped on, and damaged in many other ways. This increased durability of the card makes the extra cost worth it.
In fact, you can save money with plastic business gift cards. All the cards will remain in pristine condition long after being printed.
4. Modern Design
Plastic business gift cards look more modern as compared to traditional paper cards. The cards will make your company look upscale and innovative. This will also have a pleasant effect on your customers who will be impressed by your commitment to quality.
You can also incorporate advanced features in a plastic business gift card. A chip can be inserted in the plastic card. The chip allows customers to take details from the card to any NFC device by being near it. This results in added convenience for your customers.
The cards can be programmed using an app. The information can also be changed easily allowing you to reuse the same card for different purposes.
5. Personality and Flair
Plastic cards can add a touch of personality and style to the cards. You can add certain unique effects to the card that are not possible with traditional paper cards.
Take the card design to the next level by adding a photo on the card. The card can serve as a perfect branding tool. You can also use numbering to keep track of the gift cards.
The card can have increased security with signature panels at the back. In addition, barcodes and magnetic strips can be added to store important information.
6. Design Quality
While you can incorporate the same design in the traditional paper card, the quality is superior in plastic gift cards. The digitized photos appear much clearer and sharper on plastic cards. The premium look and feel of the card will create a positive impression about your business.
Plastic cards appear more professional. Customers can keep the card with them for a long time. They are small and can easily fit inside a wallet. You can create the best impression every time you hand out a plastic card with an impressive design.
7. Customized Cards
Plastic cards can be customized to your exact specifications. There are certain limitations to traditional paper cards. You don’t have full color and texture options with paper cards.
With a plastic card, you can have lots of opportunities to create the perfect impression on your customers.
The design and feel of a business card can have a positive impression on your customers. A high-quality business card shows that the business is committed to customer satisfaction. Plastic business gift cards will show that you are willing to go the extra mile to keep customers happy.
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DevOps, though exclusively focused on the improvement of software development businesses’ operations, are often misunderstood, especially at the initial stage of their adoption. This concept means different things in different companies, primarily due to the distinctions in focus and various tools’ choices for solving specific business needs.
But measuring the DevOps success is imperative for any business, as the large-scale transformation they require is usually expensive and long-term.
So, how can you determine whether the project succeeded or not? To keep the progress under control, every company has its own comprehensive list of DevOps metrics to measure the success of its operations. Here we offer a detailed guide on choosing your metrics and making sense of them.
Features of Actionable DevOps Metrics
Overall, there are dozens of metrics experts recommend, but your company may need a specific set thereof. How to choose the ones that fit your organization the best? We advise focusing on the following characteristics and checking these points before including the metric in your checklist.
i. Relevance
When you put DevOps tools in use, you probably pursue a specific business goal or close a performance gap. Thus, your DevOps approach may differ from the one in another company, and your metrics for measuring success should also match the initially set goals.
If your problem was a large number of errors, then the defect escape rate will be the number one metric of interest. If you struggled with deployment delays, then the deployment frequency is a metric to focus on, and so on.
ii. Measurability
There’s no sense in relying on abstract, subjective evaluations when assessing the impact of DevOps introduction in your company. Such measurements will be vague, giving no concrete data for analysis and further action. So, always choose parameters that have standardized values and can be re-measured over time.
iii. Traceability
When you want to measure something, you need to have a clear idea of what issue or parameter that metric points to. Otherwise, you won’t draw valuable conclusions even with accurate data in your hands.
iv. Actionability
What does the metric show to you? What problems can it highlight, and what improvements can it suggest? Every metric should be valuable for evidence-based decisions and strategic actions.
v. Reliability
The metric should be objective and out of the control of any team member. Otherwise, people in your team can easily manipulate the data or present their subjective views that distort or conceal the general perception of the situation.
What Metrics Won’t Do?
With the features of good metrics in mind, you should also learn a bit more about poor metric choices. This information can prevent DevOps beginners from relying on wrong or inaccurate data, which may lead to wrong, counter-productive decisions. So, bad DevOps metrics are usually:
a. Beyond the DevOps mindset
Make sure that you adopt the DevOps culture in its entirety to avoid non-DevOps metrics in performance measurement. Your values change, and the team’s performance is measured in entirely different terms. Thus, for instance, measuring compliance won’t help as it is not suitable for the DevOps development environment.
b. Focused on competition inside the team
Collaboration and competition often contradict each other. Thus, a company with a competitive culture rewarding winners and punishing losers will hardly succeed in the DevOps transition. If you understand this, don’t introduce metrics fostering competition in the team or between teams; it will kill all DevOps progress.
c. Individually rewarding
Appreciation of individual input is a metric irrelevant to DevOps, as the latter focuses on the communal outcome. So, even if a single person does the lion’s share of work in the team, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are the best. The team’s added value to the end-user experience becomes the top priority when you want to integrate the DevOps approach.
The Top 6 Metrics to Focus On
#1 Lead Time
Lead time is the key metric in most speed-focused businesses. It measures the amount of time your team needs to write and deploy the code. This metric is highly informative for future planning, showing how much time a coder will need to complete a specific task.
#2 Frequency of Deployment
Every development company focuses on more frequent code deployments, which is typically achieved by reducing the deployment size. The latter simplifies the testing and release operations. However, this metric is more complex than one might think.
To get to the core of your deployment statistics, you need to understand the number of production and non-production deployments, factor in the number of deployments to QA checks before the final release. Once these metrics are collected and analyzed in a union, you will understand how this metric affects your defect escape rates.
#3 Defect Escape Rate
The QA check at the pre-production stage is an excellent filter for ensuring that defective code doesn’t get to production. However, companies focused on fast delivery often skip the QA stage and launch poorly working code without proper testing. The defect escape rate metric will give you an idea of how many defective deployments are there; it is calculated by dividing the total number of deployments by the number of defective ones identified at the QA stage.
#4 Error Rates
Unfortunately, errors are unavoidable in the software development world. Still, you can derive tons of valuable data from analyzing your errors. Identify their types, the stage at which they occur most frequently, and look for spikes in error rates. These metrics will help you spot systemic problems and oust them to achieve sizable performance improvements.
#5 Mean time to detection (MTTD)
Errors can go unnoticed for a certain period, and the longer that period is, the greater risks they pose. Thus, it would be best to keep the MTTD metric under tight control to minimize the time for error detection and correction. Otherwise, your system may suffer downtime or expose its critical vulnerabilities, which is very risky.
Always Measure Your Progress
As you can see, DevOps can turn into a concrete and measurable issue if you use proper metrics for its assessment. Invest time and effort into picking the right metrics for your business, even if you decide to get a devops automation service. In this way, you will always be in complete control of your operations, introducing adjustments and corrections where necessary.
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The social work profession is devoted to improving the well-being and quality of life of individuals, communities, and families facing a variety of challenges.
Social workers have an important role in assisting vulnerable communities, providing services and support, and advocating for social justice. Their work takes place in a range of settings, including hospitals, orphanages, mental health clinics, and community organizations.
In this article, we will look at the key skills and traits that social workers must have in order to be successful in their field. By examining these essential qualities and characteristics, we may learn more about what makes social workers effective and how they can enhance the lives of the people they serve.
Empathy and compassion
Being able to empathize with the ideas, emotions, and observations of others is an essential skill in social work. Empathy is crucial for social workers in order to form an empathetic psychological connection with their patients. By placing themselves in their client’s shoes, social workers are able to better comprehend their hardships, difficulties, and emotions.
Compassion, on the other hand, extends beyond comprehension and requires taking action to alleviate pain and promote well-being. Building a rapport with clients in the field of social work requires compassion. By demonstrating sincere affection, concern, and an unwillingness to judge, social workers create a safe and encouraging environment in which their clients are appreciated and understood.
It is impossible to overestimate the positive effects of compassion and empathy on social work outcomes. According to numerous studies, social workers who constantly display empathy and compassion have superior professional outcomes. For instance, research has shown that clients who believe that their social workers are sympathetic and caring are more likely to actively participate in therapy, feel happier, and make more progress toward their goals.
Significant evidence is offered by academic sources in favor of the value of empathy and compassion in social work. According to a study by Gerdes et al., social workers with high levels of empathy are better able to comprehend the viewpoints of their clients, leading to more successful treatments and better results.
Additionally, a meta-analysis by Mitchell found a link between client satisfaction and social-professional empathy. These studies emphasize the significance of compassion and empathy as fundamental traits for social work practice.
Social workers can improve the success of their treatments and have a beneficial effect on the lives of their clients by exhibiting empathy and compassion. This foundation of trust, understanding, and support can be built by social workers.
Communicating and listening actively
An essential ability for social workers is effective communication as it enables them to build trusting relationships with clients and work well with interdisciplinary teams. It includes both verbal and nonverbal elements, both of which are crucial for promoting understanding, rapport building, and information transmission.
Clarity, empathy and the capacity to modify one’s communication style to suit the requirements of various clients are all essential skills for social workers. Communication that is clear and succinct ensures that information is transmitted accurately and prevents misunderstandings that can impede the success of actions.
The use of nonverbal cues, including body language, facial expressions, and voice tones, is essential in social work practice. It reinforces verbal messages and creates a constructive therapeutic atmosphere by demonstrating empathy, honesty, and respect.
Social workers must use active listening as a key strategy to properly comprehend clients’ needs. Social workers can show their sincere interest in clients by actively participating in the listening process and establishing a secure environment for client expression. Reflective listening, summarizing, and asking open-ended questions are just a few of the methods that social workers can use to obtain important data, explore clients’ perspectives, and customize interventions.
For coordinated and comprehensive care, multidisciplinary teams must communicate effectively with one another and with their clients. To offer complete support to clients, social workers work in partnership with experts from a variety of fields, including psychologists, nurses and educators. In these teams, effective communication between members promotes collaboration, keeps everyone informed, and helps clients receive the best results possible.
Social workers may develop solid relationships, assure accurate comprehension, and facilitate effective interventions by refining their communication skills and actively listening to clients and colleagues. This will ultimately result in beneficial results for individuals and communities.
Knowledge of cultures and diversity
Understanding, appreciating, and working effectively with people from different cultural origins are all part of cultural competency, a crucial component of social work. It is the capacity to understand how culture affects clients’ ideas, attitudes, actions, and experiences, while also addressing any systematic injustices or hurdles they might suffer.
Cultural competency is important in social work because it enables practitioners to offer services that are appropriate and relevant to various cultural contexts. Social workers can establish rapport, foster trust and create a secure environment for clients to communicate their needs and concerns without fear of retribution by appreciating and recognizing the cultural identities of their clients.
Cultural characteristics significantly influence how clients navigate social systems and how their experiences are shaped. Language, culture, religion, and social conventions can all have a big impact on how easily clients can access resources, how they behave when they need help, and how they interact with service providers. To deliver support services that are efficient and fair, social workers need to be aware of these cultural factors.
Social workers can use a variety of tactics to encourage cultural awareness and tolerance. First, people might examine their own cultural preconceptions and biases by engaging in self-reflection and self-awareness. Through this procedure, social workers can approach their work with an open mind and a desire to absorb client feedback. Second, continuing education and training on cultural diversity can improve practitioners’ knowledge and comprehension of many cultures, enabling them to offer services that are more respectfully informed.
Additionally, collaboration with community organizations and cultural specialists can give social workers insightful knowledge about particular cultural practices and beliefs, enabling them to customize their treatments. Involving clients in decision-making, actively seeking their feedback, and tailoring interventions to fit their cultural values and preferences are all part of creating an inclusive and culturally responsive environment.
The benefits of culturally sensitive social work practice are regularly shown by research. According to studies, clients are more satisfied with services, are more engaged in interventions, and have more faith in the therapeutic relationship when social workers practice cultural competency. Among underrepresented and varied communities, culturally competent social work practice also helps to lessen disparities, improve outcomes and build empowerment.
Social workers should make sure that their practice is respectful, equitable, and successful for clients from a variety of cultural backgrounds by acknowledging the importance of cultural competence in social work and putting cultural sensitivity and inclusion methods into practice.
Critical analysis and problem-solving
To handle the complex and multidimensional social issues that their clients encounter, social workers need to possess problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. These abilities help social workers analyze events, spot underlying issues and create successful intervention plans.
Social work professionals need analytical abilities to thoroughly examine complicated social concerns. They entail the capacity to compile pertinent information, evaluate data, and spot trends or elements that heighten clients’ difficulties. Social workers can better grasp the underlying causes of social problems and create tailored remedies by using analytical skills.
Evidence-based practice (EBP) is crucial in the decision-making process in social work practice. In order to inform interventions, EBP integrates the best available research findings, professional knowledge and client preferences. Social workers may make sure that their interventions are supported by trustworthy research, uphold ethical standards, and have a higher chance of success by using evidence-based practice.
To address the varied and complicated needs of their clients, social workers must use creative problem-solving methods. These methods entail thinking creatively, taking into account other viewpoints, and investigating novel ideas. There is no one-size-fits-all answer, and therefore social workers must be versatile and flexible in their approach to problem-solving
The link between effective social work outcomes and problem-solving skills is regularly supported by research. For instance, a study by Davis et al. (2019) discovered that social workers with good problem-solving abilities were better at helping their clients come out on top. The relationship between critical thinking abilities and the capacity to modify interventions in light of the particular circumstances of clients was underlined in a different study by Johnson and Smith (2021).
Social workers can more effectively recognize the needs of their clients, create appropriate solutions, and promote systemic changes to address social challenges by improving their problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. Social workers can improve outcomes for individuals and communities by using these talents to be proactive, resourceful, and imaginative in their work.
Self-care and resilience
For social workers to be healthy and competent in handling the demanding nature of their vocation, resilience, and self-care are essential components.
The ability to deal with and recover from stress, adversity, and difficult circumstances is referred to as resilience. Working with clients who frequently face complex and challenging circumstances can be emotionally taxing for social workers. To preserve their emotional health, avoid burnout and continue to be effective in assisting others, they must learn resilience.
Various self-care techniques can be used by social workers to boost their resilience and uphold their general well-being. These tactics include drawing clear lines between work and personal time, working out frequently, learning mindfulness and relaxation techniques, asking for help from coworkers and managers, and doing things that make them happy and fulfilled.
The effectiveness of social work is significantly impacted by individual resilience. High degrees of resilience make social workers more capable of overcoming the difficulties they face in their work. They are able to keep a good attitude, adjust to shifting conditions, and carry on offering their clients high-quality care and assistance. Resilient social workers are also more likely to have higher job satisfaction and career longevity.
The effectiveness of social work and personal resilience are positively correlated, according to research. A study by Lee and colleagues (2020), for instance, discovered that social workers with higher resilience levels reported lower levels of burnout and higher levels of job satisfaction. Resilient social workers were shown to be more likely to maintain a positive therapeutic relationship with their clients, which led to greater results, according to a different study by Smith et al. (2018).
Social workers can improve their capacity to handle stress, avoid burnout and maintain their efficacy in assisting their clients by placing a high priority on resilience and self-care. The effectiveness and longevity of social work practitioners are largely attributed to their understanding of the value of personal well-being and their adoption of self-care practices.
Identifying the essential qualities and Skills for social work success
Online MSW degree programs such as those run by Cleveland State University provide beneficial possibilities for professional development and the learning of crucial abilities. This is relevant when talking about the fundamental traits and talents that create a successful social worker.
Aspiring social workers have the freedom to balance their studies with other responsibilities such as employment and family. These programs include a thorough curriculum that addresses a variety of subjects pertinent to the practice of social work, such as the development of skills, theoretical frameworks, and ethical considerations.
Online MSW degree programs help students to build the fundamental skills required for successful social work practice. These programs frequently include courses that concentrate on skills such as communication, cultural competency, problem-solving, and self-care. Students can participate in conversations, simulations, and case studies that improve their comprehension and application of these abilities using interactive online platforms.
Additionally, field placements or internships are frequently included in online MSW degree programs, giving students the chance to get real-world experience while being supervised by qualified experts. These opportunities offer practical instruction and the possibility to put the abilities and traits covered in this article to use in actual social work settings. Students can grow in their professional practice skills and confidence under the direction of field mentors and supervisors.
Online courses provide easy and accessible options for those who are passionate about social work to learn the knowledge and abilities they need to succeed in the industry. People can enhance their skills, extend their perspectives, and improve their efficacy as social work professionals by earning an online MSW degree.
Conclusion
This article has examined the critical abilities and traits that make social workers successful. We have discussed the significance of effective communication and active listening for understanding client needs and working with multidisciplinary teams, the role of cultural competence and diversity in providing culturally responsive and inclusive services, the importance of problem-solving and critical thinking in navigating complex social issues, and the value of resilience.
It is critical to understand that these abilities and traits should be continually developed. The field of social work is one that always calls for learning and professional development. Social workers should emphasize their development by looking for opportunities to increase their education and develop their skills.
For social workers to develop their knowledge and abilities, online MSW degree programs provide a convenient and accessible route. These programs offer a thorough curriculum, opportunities for fieldwork, and the adaptability to balance schooling with other responsibilities. Social workers can advance their careers and gain a deeper understanding of the abilities and traits covered in this article by pursuing an online MSW degree program.
In conclusion, the social work profession is highly valuable and has the capacity to improve people’s lives both individually and collectively. Social workers can have a significant impact on the advancement of social justice, the defense of vulnerable groups, and the enhancement of general well-being by demonstrating the essential traits and abilities discussed above and by embracing continual learning and development.
Let’s keep supporting and fostering the development of social work professionals as they fight to change the world.
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