Published on: 31 December 2020
Last Updated on: 03 June 2021
It wasn’t that long ago that reports about KFC’s sales falling were drawing a rather dismal picture for the brand. And yet today, it’s standing strong as ever, proudly taking the title of the second most popular fast-food chain on the planet. Today in this KFC documentary, we will look into the strategies KFC used to regain its position.
The turnaround this brand managed to accomplish in a handful of years is rather miraculous in the world of business, and many can learn from its example. Some of the techniques used by KFC in its road back to the top can be adapted for small businesses that are working their way up their own niches.
KFC Documentary: Brand Revival
After KFC fall to the ground and fail to satisfy their customers with their product in 2013, they decided to connect with the customers on the emotional levels and started marketing business once again. This time they took the help of the digital platform to reach out wider bandwidth of audiences.
1. Make Advertisements Branded And Fun
Ads are annoying, and people skip them, right? Well, KFC managed to create a series of ads that people were really looking forward to watching. Each was an entertaining clip featuring ‘Colonel Sanders’ in some new interesting role. Colonel, the founder and greatest asset of KFC, is the embodiment of the brand today. On the contrary, the company is immortalizing him by turning him from a real-life showman and marketing genius into a fictional hero who has his own fan club. There are even books about his rise to the brand icon role now.
A small business will not be able to launch a multimillion campaign with fancy ads, but you can create a character that will give a personality to your brand. Choose something or someone that your target audience will be able to relate to. Your goal is to make your marketing seem less like self-promotion and more like a friend or idol offering advice.
2. Make Your Customer Feedback Count
One thing that KFC has always been focused on was delivering a top-quality customer experience. One of the main methods the brand uses to achieve that is directly asking for feedback and actually using it. All you need to do in order to share your opinion and be heard is to fill up the KFC survey. Have you ever done this yourself? Did it help improve the service or address any issue you had? Did you feel like you can contribute to the betterment of your favorite fast-food restaurant by taking that survey?
Considering how smoothly the KFC customer service runs, the answers to those questions are most likely ‘yes’. And that is what a small business owner should learn from KFC. You need to establish a way for your customers to provide feedback (a customer satisfaction survey is a good start). Then, you need to pay attention to that feedback and follow up on it immediately. Today you can find or develop specialized solutions that will process this information to make this easier. That’s why the survey format is optimal for small companies that cannot hire a full-time call center service.
KFC Documentary: Final Thoughts
Of course, there was more to KFC’s triumph, like leveraging humor as well as extensive work in local market research and launching dozens of localized projects, like traditional menu changes. However, as a small business owner, you need to start with things that can bring tangible results right away.
Read Also:
Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.
Once you’re ready to sell your small business, hiring a business broker tops your list. An article from this perfectly defines the role of business brokers that is to act as “intermediaries between buyers and sellers of a business”. They are the equivalent of real estate brokers or agents who sell properties on behalf of property owners.
Business brokers manage everything necessary to sell your small business, from planning to marketing to closing the deal. Some even assist during the transition process. Considering such an enormous task, enlisting a broker may seem the easiest and most convenient thing to do. However, their service comes with an outrageous fee, usually around 10% commission from the sale. This is certainly a huge cut from your profits.
If you want to retain the full profit from the sale, you can opt to sell your small business sans middlemen. This is an excellent choice especially if you have previous experience selling a business, you know of prospective buyers, or you’re not in a hurry to sell-off. However, when you decide to sell your business on your own, you have to be ready for a tedious legwork.
So, how do you go about the sale?
Know your reason for selling the small business
According to a business broker, the first thing that a buyer would want to know is why a business is being sold. For a business to attract a potential buyer, you need to have a good reason.
Some of the common reasons are retirement, sudden changes in personal circumstances, illness or death, boredom, partnership disputes, and burnout. Prospective buyers find these as ‘attractive’ reasons to buy a business.
It may be harder to sell a business if you tell the buyer that you’re selling the business due to its sorry financial state, persistent losses, lack of manpower, and changing market conditions and trends.
Make your business easily marketable by timing your sale properly. Show positive attributes to make it more marketable such as a strong customer base, increased profitability, consistent good financials, well-defined business processes, and a good contract.
Plan your sale
Prepare your business at least two years ahead of the sale, especially if you won’t enlist a broker. Have an ample amount of time to improve your client base, business structure, and financial records. This will help improve the value of your business and make it more attractive to buyers. This should also help ease the transition process.
Get your business appraised
Once you’re ready to sell, you need to decide on the worth of your business. It is best to work with a professional business appraiser to get a proper valuation. Often, business owners become illogical when it comes to evaluating their own business. Some price is too low in an attempt to make it more marketable but end up losing on potential profit. Others price it too high hence making it unattractive to potential buyers.
A business appraiser will evaluate your business to determine its worth. He then prepares a detailed explanation to give credibility to the proposed price.
Prepare all documents
Give time in preparing the design or sales package for your business. This document represents your business in the best possible light to potential buyers. It should include financial, operational and marketing information. If you are not comfortable with your communication skills, you can enlist the help of professional business writers.
Financial documents are an important part of the sale process. Gather your books of account, financial statements, and tax returns for the past four years. Review these documents with an accountant. In addition, develop a list of assets that are being sold along with the business. Include other necessary documents such as lease agreements, supplier contracts, and contact lists.
Prepare an information packet or operating manual that provides an overview of your business processes. In addition, you want to add photographs of your business, testimonials, case studies, and customer profiles. Highlight accomplishments and milestones to make it more marketable and command better-asking price.
Prepare your business on-site
Alongside the documentary preparations, you should also make your business site presentable. Check your physical store, production site, warehouse, and other related locations. You might need to have some areas repainted or redeveloped. Check if equipment or machinery needs to be replaced or fixed before the sale. Investing in such developments can help improve the asking price.
It might sound cliché but first impressions last. An unkempt and dilapidated business site might turn off a potential buyer. It pays to invest in your physical asset as soon as you decide to sell on your own.
Look for a buyer to sell your small business
Finding a buyer is difficult, but it becomes doubly challenging if you don’t have a business broker. Unless you have a ready buyer, it may take several months to years before you can find the right buyer.
The advantage of hiring a business broker is that they have wide networks and established marketing methods. If you are working solo, you will need to compensate for these services. There are listing sites dedicated to businesses-on-sale. You only need to pay a one-time fee and your business becomes available to potential buyers.
You can also tap your networks. Perhaps, a friend or an acquaintance (or someone they know) is planning to buy a business. You can check your local business clubs or chambers. Visit online forums and social networks. Don’t limit your advertising methods.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, if you sell your small business without a broker is possible. It can even be advantageous if you play an active role in the sales and negotiation process. Quite obviously, business owners are more passionate to sell their business to the right buyers. Of course, you just have to remain rational and avoid getting your emotions to affect your decisions.
As a final caution, if you have no experience selling and buying a business, you should consider working with a business broker or someone who has experience in this field. Better yet, you can check with your local chamber of commerce for assistance and counseling.
Read Also:
How to Boost Traffic to your Small Business
Cost Effective Custom Mobile Accessories Packaging for your Small Business
How To Empower Your Small Business through Digital Marketing?
4 Simple And Cheap Methods To Attract More Customers For Your Small Business
Most businesses don’t want to spend their time, resources, departments, and assets processing payroll, which is a big mistake.
If you are a business owner and want to take your business to the next level of excellence, you should embrace payroll services.
Yes, it is one of the most critical things that need to be considered by businesses of almost all dimensions. To improve business functionality, customer services, product innovation, and decision-making procedure, and eventual outcomes, then you should invest in payroll services.
Managing payroll is a critical aspect:
Of course, there is no denying that managing payroll is a critical aspect and is quite challenging. Still, with powerful and robust software solutions, it becomes easier for businesses to manage their payroll. Besides that, payroll software solutions help companies to know and understand new tax and labor laws, which allows them to stay ahead of the game.
“Payroll has always been a complicated matter for businesses.” According to a report, most businesses come under intense scrutiny and legal frameworks because they do not have a sound payroll management system.
Thanks to ADP Payroll:
Most experts believe that modern businesses should invest in ADP Payroll Services because they are designed for companies that want to stay ahead in their niche and compete with their most formidable competitors. Since it is mighty, it can reduce the entire burden of businesses. It can also keep the whole record of employees.
ADP Payroll has the potential to transform:
When it comes to accuracy, seamless execution of payroll and HR department, and comprehensive capabilities, nothing can beat ADP Payroll.
It has incredible features, which makes it an ideal platform for enterprises. In other words, ADP Payroll has the potential to transform the HR sector in its way. Since it promotes seamless working and record management, it gives fantastic opportunities to businesses.
Safe, fast, efficient operations:
Today, every business section is experiencing a massive and unbridled shift in technology, so why not the payroll one.
Thanks to ADP Payroll, which is here to assist businesses to curb current and future challenges. ADP Payroll not only ensures safe, fast, efficient operations but also commitment towards the organization.
Indeed, it can act as a mechanism for organizations to manage their payroll and HR departments smoothly and minimize disputes and other types of complaints.
Why ADP Payroll?
Unquestionably, ADP Payroll provides the most crucial support to the business. Still, some companies believe that a manual system is also capable. Let us see why a company should invest in ADP Payroll –
The service is entirely cloud-based.
No need to maintain any software or waste your time in exhaustive download.
The services are accessible through the Internet.
It is fast, secure, and aligned.
It can help you with tax information, workers’ compensation, earnings, etc.
“Businesses should understand the primary importance of making organizations more easily adaptable to change.”
Transform operation models:
You will be surprised to know that such payroll solutions can significantly transform operation models, business models, and eventually the entire business ecosystem in a positive way. ADP Payroll is an ideal choice for enterprises of all levels.
Of course, it is good to stay highly selective when it comes to payroll services and solutions; however, when it comes to ADP Payroll, no need to worry at all.
The bottom line:
Whether you want to streamline your departments, gain employee insights, keep a record, build competencies, or outperform your competitors, you can always rely on ADP Payroll. Hence, if you want to improve business performance and outcomes, then you should pick ADP Payroll…
Read Also:
Why OKRs Help Businesses Grow and Improve
Is A Time Card App Really Necessary? Data Points To Yes!
5 Perks of Having QuickBooks Pro for Your Business
Are you struggling to keep pace with the ever-evolving demands of your Agile projects? In today's fast-paced development environment, scaling your team efficiently is not just an option; it's a necessity. Therefore, you must use staff augmentation, a strategic solution that can rapidly accelerate your Agile project delivery.
Discover how integrating skilled professionals into your team can bring unparalleled flexibility and expertise, significantly boosting your project's efficiency.
We'll explore the tangible benefits, practical strategies, and insightful best practices to help you effectively scale your Agile team through staff augmentation.
Get ready to transform the way you manage your projects and achieve remarkable results.
Understanding Staff Augmentation: A Quick Primer
Staff augmentation is a flexible strategy for outsourcing the right talent for the right job. This strategy is followed by big firms globally for managing augmented teams.
Unlike conventional hiring, which often involves a lengthy recruitment process and long-term commitments, staff augmentation offers a nimble approach to scaling teams.
This strategy is particularly beneficial for businesses needing specialized skills for short-term projects or to fill temporary skill gaps.
Here’s a breakdown of how staff augmentation differs from traditional hiring:
Time Efficiency: Staff augmentation services enable quick onboarding of skilled professionals, reducing the time-to-hire significantly compared to the traditional recruitment process.
Cost-Effectiveness: It eliminates many overhead costs associated with full-time employees, such as benefits, office space, and long-term contracts.
Flexibility and Scalability: Companies can scale their teams up or down based on project requirements without the long-term commitment of a full-time hire.
Types Of Staff Augmentation
There are three main types of staff augmentation, which are:
Short-term: Typically used for specific projects with tight deadlines or to cover temporary absences.
Long-term: Ideal for extended projects where ongoing support is required.
Specialized: Focuses on providing experts in niche areas or new technologies that are not present in-house.
Understanding these distinctions and the types of staff augmentation available helps businesses make informed decisions about how to effectively scale their teams and meet project demands.
This approach is increasingly popular in Agile environments, where adaptability and speed are key.
The Role Of Staff Augmentation In Agile Project Management
Integrating augmented staff into Agile teams can significantly enhance project management efficiency.
In Agile environments, where adaptability and rapid iteration are paramount, augmented staff provides the necessary skills and manpower to meet fluctuating project demands.
Impact on Agile Processes and Workflows:
Enhanced Skill Set: Augmented staff bring specialized skills that might be lacking in the current team, facilitating more diverse and innovative approaches to problem-solving.
Increased Flexibility: They allow Agile teams to quickly adapt to changing project requirements, ensuring that deadlines are met without compromising on quality.
Improved Productivity: With more hands on deck, teams can manage larger workloads more efficiently, accelerating project timelines.
A practical example of successful integration can be seen in a tech startup that leveraged professional IT staff augmentation to speed up the development of a new software product.
Facing a tight deadline, the startup augmented its existing team with skilled developers who specialized in the required technology stack.
This integration allowed the team to maintain Agile methodologies, like daily stand-ups and sprint planning, while effectively managing the increased workload.
As a result, the product was developed and launched within the desired timeframe, demonstrating the effectiveness of staff augmentation in Agile project management.
The key to success in such integration lies in ensuring that the augmented staff are not only skilled but also align with the company's Agile culture and practices.
This alignment ensures seamless collaboration and optimal results.
Benefits Of Staff Augmentation For Agile Teams
Staff augmentation offers a myriad of benefits to Agile teams, enabling them to tackle projects more effectively and efficiently. Here are some of the key advantages:
1. Access To Specialized Skills And Expertise
Staff augmentation allows Agile teams to bring in professionals with specific skill sets that may be lacking internally.
This is especially valuable for projects requiring niche expertise or for navigating emerging technologies.
2. Flexibility And Scalability
Agile projects often fluctuate in scope and scale, necessitating a flexible workforce.
Staff augmentation provides the ability to scale the team size up or down based on the current needs of the project, ensuring that resources are optimally utilized.
3. Cost-Effectiveness And Efficiency
By augmenting staff, companies can avoid the long-term costs associated with permanent hires, such as benefits, training, and other overheads.
This approach is also efficient in reducing recruitment time, enabling teams to focus more on project delivery rather than on lengthy hiring processes.
4. Enhanced Productivity
With additional skilled resources, Agile teams can manage workloads more effectively, leading to increased productivity.
This also allows for faster turnaround times on projects, as tasks can be distributed more evenly and handled more competently.
5. Focus On Core Business
Augmentation frees up internal resources, allowing teams to focus on core business activities.
This is particularly beneficial for smaller teams or startups, where internal resources are often stretched thin.
Overcoming Common Challenges In Staff Augmentation
While staff augmentation offers significant benefits to Agile teams, it also comes with its own set of challenges.
Addressing these effectively is key to leveraging the full potential of this strategy.
1. Addressing Skill Gaps And Training Needs
One of the primary challenges is ensuring that augmented staff possess the right skill sets and are up to date with the latest technologies.
Regular training and professional development opportunities are essential to bridge any skill gaps.
2. Navigating Administrative And Legal Considerations
Augmenting staff often involves dealing with contracts, legal compliance, and administrative tasks, especially when hiring internationally.
It's important to have a clear understanding of these aspects or work with a partner who can manage them.
3. Ensuring Quality And Performance
Maintaining the quality of work and ensuring the performance of augmented staff can be challenging.
Setting up key performance indicators (KPIs), regular performance reviews, and continuous feedback mechanisms can help in monitoring and maintaining work standards.
4. Cultural And Communication Barriers
Augmented teams might face challenges due to cultural differences and communication barriers, especially in a remote working environment.
Encouraging open communication, cultural sensitivity training, and team-building activities can mitigate these issues.
5. Integration With Existing Teams
Ensuring seamless integration of augmented staff with existing teams is critical.
This requires clear communication of roles, responsibilities, and project goals, along with fostering a collaborative team culture.
The Best Staff Augmentation Practices In 2024
If you want to make the most of staff augmentation for agile project management, here are some necessary practices that you must inculcate:
1. Maintaining Clear Communication
If you wish to have a strong team that gets theory work done on time with zero errors, having clear and open communication channels is a necessity.
Having proper communication between all the members of the team is necessary for development. This is because it facilitates everyone in the team to work together and solve any issues that may crop up.
Moreover, open communication improves team bonding, which is crucial for all team members to understand their strengths and weaknesses. This helps the team leaders to make better decisions regarding the allocation of work according to everyone's strengths and expertise.
Therefore, use team communication tools like Slack, Asana, Trello, Skype, and Microsoft Teams.
2. Clearly Define Job Roles
To get the most out of staff augmentation, you must define everyone’s job roles. If all members of your team know what they must do - and what they shouldn’t do - to get the job done, it prevents chaos and conflicts between your team members.
Moreover, having clear job roles will make everyone's daily tasks clear. In addition, having a job role comes with various expectations. Therefore, it will help team leaders better measure the performance and efficacy of team members.
3. Learn How To Use Project Management Tools
If you want to lead a project from initiation to its completion, you and your staff must use the best project management tools in 2024.
Project management tools provide better documentation and storage of all work done by your team. Moreover, this helps in staff augmentation since many outsourced employees might be from other countries. Therefore, giving them limited access to to your sheets will help you better track and manage their work.
The best project management tools in 2024 are Trello, Jira, and Microsoft Office 365.
4. Encourage Documentation-Driven Development
How do you know that an outsourced staff member has done their work? No word of mouth will be tolerated here. The only permissible proof is proper documentation of your work.
Therefore, team leaders and managers should encourage a work culture where all staff members (especially augmented staff members) must have proper and updated documentation of their daily work.
This will help you keep track of everyone’s work and help you asses future actions and strategies.
Conclusion: Scale Your Agile Team with Staff Augmentation
In conclusion, staff augmentation emerges as a powerful strategy for scaling Agile teams, addressing skill gaps, and enhancing project delivery efficiency.
This approach provides a pragmatic solution to the dynamic challenges of modern project management, offering flexibility, specialized expertise, and cost-effectiveness.
To recap the key benefits:
Access to a global talent pool for specialized skills.
Scalability to meet fluctuating project demands.
Cost savings compared to traditional hiring.
Increased productivity and efficiency.
However, it's important to approach staff augmentation with a strategic mindset.
Choosing the right partner, ensuring cultural and process alignment, and effectively managing augmented staff are crucial steps towards success.
Additionally, overcoming challenges like administrative hurdles, quality assurance, and team integration is essential for a seamless experience.
Moreover, following the best staff augmentation practices will help you manage and track everyone’s work. In addition, it also facilitates clearer communication with outsourced staff members as well.
Read Also:
Top Ways Contract Management Software Helps to Mitigate Contract Risk
Why Should I Get Started With Event Management Software?
Which Marketing Mix Element Deals Specifically With Retailing And Marketing Channel
A small business will not be able to launch a multimillion campaign with fancy ads, but you can create a character that will give a personality to your brand. Choose something or someone that your target audience will be able to relate to. Your goal is to make your marketing seem less like self-promotion and more like a friend or idol offering advice.
Considering how smoothly the KFC customer service runs, the answers to those questions are most likely ‘yes’. And that is what a small business owner should learn from KFC. You need to establish a way for your customers to provide feedback (a customer satisfaction survey is a good start). Then, you need to pay attention to that feedback and follow up on it immediately. Today you can find or develop specialized solutions that will process this information to make this easier. That’s why the survey format is optimal for small companies that cannot hire a full-time call center service.
