It’s safe to say that for most businesses, 2020 so far hasn’t been the most financially prosperous year. Perhaps now more than ever, organizations need to explore how they can reduce expenses and ensure that operations continue running smoothly. To help you in this endeavor, we’ve put together a list of 11 creative ways that you can save money today.
Going Green
Let’s start with your green credentials. It’s an important aspect of business success these days. Consumers are drawn to products that are made with the environment in mind and employees prefer working for companies with a more earth-friendly mission. At the same time, most of the measures that you can take to go green have cost-saving benefits.
For instance, switching to LEDs will cut your energy bill in addition to being free of mercury and the other toxic gases contained in older light bulbs. Offering employees more sustainable, healthy foods at the cafeteria will show that you care about them as well as improving their performance. Recycling should also be on the agenda.
Try to utilize natural light where possible. If you can make the investment, solar is a great option. Digital billing will save you more than one kind of paper. Don’t forget to let your customers know about your efforts. Oh, and definitely make the switch to a more eco-friendly energy provider, you can find and compare business energy suppliers easily online.
Outsourcing
On-site employees can be expensive. You have to factor in office space, equipment, insurance, and benefits on top of a reasonable salary. But an extra hand or two is necessary for growth. Instead of hiring more staff, consider outsourcing. This allows you to benefit from much lower rates and avoid having to facilitate the workers on your premises.
Negotiate and Compare
What you’ve been paying for services such as water, electricity, insurance, and telecoms isn’t necessarily what you should pay. Ultimately, the companies supplying these services need to stay in business as well, so they’ll probably agree to negotiate lower charges before losing a customer. In any case, you won’t lose anything by trying.
Alternatively, you can skip the talk and use a quotes comparison website to find the most affordable provider. Sites like Utility Bidder allow you to compare quotes for services such as electricity, gas, and water. Moreover, Utility Bidder can help you switch to greener energy, which can improve your public image while lowering costs.
Cloud Technology
Chances are that you’re moving further into the digital space. You should be, as there are incredible benefits to doing so. But all that data needs to be stored somewhere.
Cloud services are like the outsourcing of data storage, allowing you to keep everything off-site without sacrificing security. This means that you won’t have to pay for physical storage and deal with all the associated (and potentially expensive) risks, such as theft and natural disaster. The cloud is also more scalable in addition to several other benefits.
Fewer Meetings
Meetings can be a real time-sink, not to mention the travel costs associated with attending them. In most cases, you should be able to host meetings with stakeholders through video conferencing software instead. As for meetings that happen in the office, you can cut down on their cost by only having essential staff participate. Keep them lean.
Digital Marketing
How does your marketing strategy look? There are many ways to use the internet to get the word out about your business, and some don’t require any money at all. This includes capturing email data on your website and sending out newsletters. Establishing and growing your social media presence is a must.
Don’t forget to list your company on Yelp, Bing, Yahoo, Google My Business, and the like. You can also ask customers for testimonials. Contributing to blogs, forums and online discussions relevant to your target audience can help to expand your reach as well. Overall, digital marketing can prove to be far more useful and affordable than traditional advertising.
Remote Working
There are some things that you cannot outsource. For those roles, having employees in remote positions is the way forward. Your current staff will probably be happier with telecommuting as well, be it occasionally or on a full-time basis. In fact, studies suggest that these kinds of flexible work arrangements improve employee morale and productivity.
Moreover, they improve your bottom line. This is due to several factors. Less in-house staff means lower utility costs, as well as freeing up office space and equipment. It also reduces the loss of time and money spent commuting.
Buying Used
Not everything your company buys has to be brand new, especially if there are significant cost savings to be enjoyed with second-hand purchases. Depending on what you do, this can include office technology such as copiers and printers, as well as delivery vehicles, storage and packing equipment, office furniture, and cafeteria items.
Hiring Employees
Today’s job market is a tough place, especially with the high number of layoffs that have occurred in the past few months. The traditional approach is to hire employees with a few years of experience. But this can prove to be more expensive than it is beneficial.
Instead, opt for ambitious, motivated individuals with less experience. They’re looking for entry-level positions and are more comfortable with an entry-level salary while being eager to learn. Plus, if you provide good training, then their lack of experience won’t get in the way. Make it clear in your job listings that recent graduates are welcome.
Know Your Audience
The more you know about your customer, the more accurate you can make your marketing, resulting in less missed shots and wasted funds.
Open Source Software
Before you splurge on some kind of business software, it might be worthwhile to look into an open-source alternative. These types of software are free to use and with the right expertise, can be customized to improve their functionality. Cloud-based software is a less free, but still more affordable solution to consider as well.
While they will certainly make a noticeable difference to your bottom line, these aren’t the only ways that your business can save money. Don’t hesitate to think outside of the box and see where else you can spare some cash.
