Category: Local Branding

Local Branding

4 Reasons Why a Franchise Business is Better Than a Startup

Are you planning to start up a retail business? Have you considered buying a franchise instead of starting your business from scratch? You may have heard that more than 70% of startups collapse because big competitors hustle them out of business.

So, logically, your chances of survival will be much higher when you latch on to a reputable brand. Besides, there are other reasons why it is always better to buy a franchise.

Here are all the reasons:

1. You don’t need much experience

Most big brands will not only support you, but they’ll also train you on how best to sell their products. They have been selling the products for long, so they know the best techniques to sell the products. So, if you don’t know much about the business, you’ll get enough training and support from them.

2. You won’t spend much on ads and marketing

When you’re starting on your own, you’ll need to pay a considerable sum of money on marketing and publicity because people are usually hesitant to patronage new brands. But if you buy a franchise from a known brand, you may not need much marketing as your parent organization will be doing most of the marketing and publicity. You only need to leverage their advertising.

3. Franchises enjoy higher credibility

When you buy a franchise from a reputable brand, you’ll enjoy their reliability. Because of the credibility, the success rate of franchises is usually higher than that of startups. Furthermore, you can raise funds for buying a franchise more quickly than getting your new business funded. It all boils down to credibility. This is why investors and creditors are more willing to put their money in franchises.

4. You’ll benefit from ongoing operational support

Your franchiser is naturally a stakeholder in your business and will always give you all the necessary push to succeed. Mentorship is usually a part of the support. The credit facility is another benefit franchisees enjoy from their franchisers. All these will make it easier for you to succeed. It is not uncommon for franchisers to offer incentives to their franchisees to motivate them to intensify their efforts. Your franchiser could pay you some commission for meeting certain sales thresholds.

Conclusion

Now that you understand why buying a franchise is better, you also need to realize that there are certain qualities to look out for in your prospective franchiser. You need a company that sells products of sustainable fashion brands. These products are clothes, accessories, and beauty products. This kind of product is easier to sell with little effort. You are better off with a brand that has already established itself as a global brand. Choose a franchisor that has a presence in multiple countries. Most importantly, you need a brand that has been in business for several years.

One brand that checks all the boxes is XIMIVOGUE. You can try them. They deal in products from sustainable fashion brands, they have been in business for several years, and they have more than 1,500 stores in more than 80 countries. You can easily leverage its extensive network.

For more info, please visit https://www.ximiso.com/

Legal BrandingLocal Branding

10 Tips To Accelerate The Growth Of Your Business

Building traffic to your site is a necessary part of doing business that can be achieved by accomplishing one task at a time. Very rarely does a website become an instant hit and go from no visitors to 50k overnight.

Take advantage of traffic in the organic listings with a ranking on the first page of search results. 70-80% of people focus on organic listings because they believe they are more inclined to find credible information than the paid listings.

In fact, organic traffic represents a 5.66% more times the opportunity than a paid advertisement. 

Push your site to the top of the SERP’s by incorporating the following tips and strategies that will give your website more ranking ability to drive more traffic.

  1. Perform regular maintenance
  2. Make your site faster
  3. Improve mobile-friendliness
  4. Assign your keywords
  5. Establish search intent
  6. Link to and from internal pages
  7. Use alternate forms of media
  8. Optimize for SERP features
  9. Improve your credibility
  10. Build an audience

Perform regular maintenance

Establish a regular routine for when you run a site audit to avoid any errors that may contribute to a drop in ranking. As time goes on, every website will begin to generate errors-especially if there is content being added regularly. Errors could be anything from indexing issues to duplicate content.

An SEO consultant will run a site audit before the start of an SEO campaign. This keeps the data on the new project accurate and relevant. Eliminate any errors that arise before the campaign starts so there is no interference with how the page is being ranked.

Here are a couple of tools you can use to create a report on the errors your site is generating:

Make your site faster

Page speed is an on-going battle and should be a regular item on your to-do list. There is always something you can do to make your site faster. Google has openly stated that page speed is a ranking factor they use so staying below the industry average (three seconds) is one way to give your website a competitive edge.

Run a page speed test on any of the following sites to get a score on the speed of your site and the details for what exactly is slowing your site down. You can use any one of the following tools:

There might be items in your report that are complicated to fix however there are changes you will be able to make to improve the speed of your site. 

For example, the size of images is a major issue that slows down a lot of sites. Using a tool of your choice you can replace your images with smaller versions to speed up how fast they load.

Here a few tools to use:

For the other items on your report, you may see things like inline and minify CSS and JavaScript. These may present more problems if you’re not savvy in speaking those languages. There are plugins and CDN (content delivery network) solutions that can help to do most of the heavy lifting for those issues. We recommend checking out a handpicked collection of the best resources to learn Javascript.

Try using W3 Cache plugin, as it’s the most widely used for many of the issues that slow down the load time (minifies HTML, CSS, and JavaScript) This plugin can also be integrated with your CDN.

Cloudflare is a popular choice in CDN’s and they offer a free version that is effective in improving your page speed, security, and overall website performance.

Improve mobile-friendliness

Canonical tested one million websites for mobile-friendliness and found that 24% of the website failed the test. This statistic shows the opportunity to outperform competitors in mobile-friendliness.

Image source: https://canonicalized.com/mobile-friendly-study/

Although 99% of websites made today are made for mobile devices, there are sometimes structural elements that should be addressed to make your site mobile-friendly. Test your site out on Google’s Mobile Friendly Test to get a score for the mobile-friendliness of your website.

There may be small adjustments to make that would improve the user experience and make your site more competitive. 

Common issues on responsive sites include buttons being too close together or script running too close to the edges of the screen. Issues like these are small adjustments for your developer and will contribute to your competitiveness.

Assign your keywords

Every piece of content that is created for a website should start with extensive keyword research. This is to determine the best target keyword to optimize for as well as the keyword cluster to include on your page.

If two or more pages are optimized for the same keyword, it leads to keyword cannibalization. This will restrict rankings when search engines see two or more pages competing with each other.

Optimize your pages for a target keyword that includes the keyword synonyms associated with your topic. Make sure each page is optimized for a different keyword cluster in order to give it the most competitive edge.  

Establish search intent

Semantic search has forced the need for deeper levels of research in order for a website to appear in a top-ranked position. Search engines are ranking pages that can best answer a query based on the content they’ve provided.   

Your content must be able to satisfy the user who searches your keyword. If the content on your page leads a user to bounce from your site and continue looking elsewhere they obviously were not satisfied with what you’re providing.

The ability to satisfy search intent is a major ranking criterion that is measured through the content provided and the engagement statistics it generates. Dwell time, click-through rate and bounce rate are all measures of how much a user liked what your site offered.

Get to the source of search intent by finding exactly what users typing in your keyword want to read about. You may be offering the product they ultimately will buy but finding what content they engage in reading about your product will boost the interest people have in your content. 

Search forums and social media groups to see the pressing issues and problems people face so you can write about the solutions to those problems in your content.

Link to and from internal pages

Using internal links will enhance the optimization of your pages and spread link equity to give your pages more authority.

Use keyword anchor text links to signal what the page is about and lead users to related content that they will find helpful or interesting. 

Signal the importance of a page to your site can be emphasized by the number of links pointing to it from other pages within your site. Create the hierarchy of pages within your site by linking to the most important pages the most times.

Use alternate forms of media

Increased competition and a growing awareness of SEO has placed even more emphasis on producing original content that stands out from the competition. Use alternate forms of media to make your content stand out and rank higher in the search results.

People retain 65% of the information from articles with images as opposed to 10% without images. Videos are shared 12X more on social media than links and text posts combined. Podcasts are also taking off with more Americans listening more frequently (up 32% on a monthly basis) than ever before. 

Use as many variations of media when it comes to differentiating your content from your competition. Use what your competitors are using AND what they’re not using to outperform their pages in every way possible.

Optimize for SERP features

For the first time ever, in 2019 Google searches have produced more than 50% zero-click searches. That means that more than half of the searches that are made on Google end up on a Google property with no click at all made to any websites.

The emergence of featured snippets, local packs, knowledge cards are all sucking away the clicks that can be made to any organic listings. If you aren’t optimized for the SERP feature that appears for your keyword, you’re losing out on targeted traffic.

One of the highest converting sources of traffic is from localized searches. 46% of all searches have local intent making local SEO a lucrative addition to driving traffic to your site.

Improve your credibility

Backlinks are still one of the largest ranking factors search engines use to determine the credibility and authority of your website. Ahrefs studied almost a billion pages and concluded that more backlinks equals a higher ranking.

Choose from a variety of methods to build links to your page. The more links you build the more authority your page receives. Get your links from credible sites within the same niche. Keep in mind that websites with higher DA will have a bigger impact on your ranking and improve your site’s authority.

Build an audience

One of the best ways to instantly get eyes on your content is to post to your social media network. If you don’t have one it’s never too late to build one.

Social signals are a ranking factor so it definitely helps to have people sharing your page, however, the real value is in the traffic that flows to your page. Increased traffic brings more potential for new clients and a higher likelihood of your page being linked to by another website.

Continue to stay active in the social media site that is best suited to your industry. If you are producing good content, your audience will build over time and become an incredible asset for traffic generation.

Conclusion

These strategies are among the most influential ranking signals that contribute to pushing your site up in the rankings. Accomplishing each strategy effectively will move the needle and get your site to the first page of results, generate more traffic and fuel the growth of your company.

Christian Carere is an SEO consultant and the owner of Digital Ducats Inc. Christian specializes in SEO services custom-designed to improve traffic and lead generation.

Local Branding

5 Points When Choosing Retail Clothing Racks Wholesale

If you’re going to sell clothes, you’ve got to stage them. Mannequins are ideal for this purpose, but you don’t want people in your store undressing your mannequins to try on some jeans. You need clothing racks to stage clothes and store them. Depending on the kind of store you’ve got, style is also something to think about. Consider the five following tips here:

1. Low-Cost Shipping 

It’s important to find a solution that includes low-cost shipping options. Especially if you’re a large retailer, you’re going to need to order multiple racks. Shipping costs can add up quickly. While you will generally get a discount for ordering multiple racks, that doesn’t do you any good if you pay out the nose in shipping. When buying wholesale, seek shipping deals.

2. Existence Of A Warranty -3 Years Is Good

When you’ve got clothes hanging from a rack for long periods of time, that’s going to initiate wear and tear. This will incidentally break down any rack eventually. This is especially true if you’re selling heavy clothing, like winter coats or sweaters.

Accordingly, before buying racks, be sure there is a warranty available. A three-year warranty will likely see you getting your investment back over time. Of course, this will depend on what kind of clothes you’re selling, and how expensive they are.

3. Know Store Or Home Needs—More Is Cheaper

You don’t have to only buy retail clothing racks for some outlet you manage; you may as well buy them for your home if you need them, or you’re organizing your closet. That being said, when you buy racks singly, rather than as a group, you’ll pay more for them.

However, the more racks you buy, the greater the potential discounts you can enjoy. The companies selling the racks are able to offset the discount through increased revenue. For the best deal, see what sort of discounts the provider you’re considering offers should you buy in bulk.

4. Rack Height, Size, And Appearance: What’s It Made Of?

How tall are the racks you’re considering? What sort of space will they be in? How do they look, and what are they made of? Sometimes you’ll find racks that have a wooden appearance, sometimes they’re starkly metallic. Sometimes they’re painted in dark colors which hide material makeup. What are the racks you’re considering made of, and how does that relate to your premises?

Answer these questions right off the bat, because if you’re buying retail racks in bulk, they’re going to get shipped to you, and you may not see them until they arrive. So know exactly what you’re looking for, and what it will look like when it’s displaying clothes in your store.

5. The Right Racks For The Right Clothes: Heavy Duty Options

Some racks are made deliberately stronger than others. Not all racks need to support heavy clothing items. So you need to know whether or not the clothing you’ll be displaying will stress the racks or not, and buy accordingly. When buying, seek a provider who has a variety of options. They should have heavy-duty racks, and others for less heavy clothing.

Finding The Right Racks For Your Store

There are a lot of options out there. Bolun racks provide heavy duty options, package deals, cheap shipping, multiple sorts of racks in terms of style and size, and extended warranties. Going with a group like this for your clothing racks can help you enjoy the greatest return on this infrastructural investment.

Legal BrandingLocal BrandingPersonal Branding

7 Tips for Becoming a Successful Brand Manager

A career in marketing is one of the most lucrative ideas that an aspiring professional should have in the business world. Why? Well, because there are more enterprises out there than ever before and even one-person startups often need consultation services from renowned brand managers. Still, how does one become a brand manager or, even more importantly, how does one become successful and gains renown in this field? Well, here are the top seven tips for becoming a successful brand manager.

1. Get some formal education

The first thing you need to do in order to be taken seriously in this field or even get a chance is to get some form of formal education. At the very least, you need a Bachelor’s degree in a field that’s relevant to branding or marketing. So, business, administration, or science are your safest bets. Science is particularly effective, seeing as how an efficient brand manager spends so much time analyzing and interpreting harvested data. Also, make sure that the university that you go to has all the right reputation and accreditation. Otherwise, you might find yourself in a bit of a pickle. 

2. Develop a necessary skillset

As always, a degree can only get you so far. In order to really make it in the field, you need to possess the right skillset. When it comes to being a brand manager, you need to have great analytical skills and attention to detail. Also, you need to possess a thirst for knowledge and self-improvement, seeing as how trends evolve and new emerge on a daily basis. Then, you need to know how to do the right budgeting and be resourceful with the budget you have. Lastly, you need to be creative and possess the right team working (even leadership) skills. With all of this under your belt, you just can’t fail.

3. Get some experience in the field

The next thing you need to understand is that no one has ever started as a brand manager. Before that, you need some experience in the field, in the form of an entry-level job or at least an internship at the esteemed branding agency. Then, you need a letter of recommendation (or a couple of them) as well as a professional portfolio. Any major project that you’ve collaborated on needs to be listed. Even more importantly, you need to understand that you’re not really doing this for the portfolio. You’re doing it for experience, so try to learn something from each of these projects.

4. Get tech-savvy

Due to the fact that you’ll mostly work in a digital environment (via collaboration tool) and employ services of those from the same branch, it’s incredibly important that you get tech-savvy as quickly as possible. Your smartphone is your office and the more specialized tools you get to use, the greater your efficiency will be. Even your payments need to become smarter, which is why you might want to apply for  a payroll card. With so many freelancers and telecommuters on your retainer, managing all of their wages becomes so much easier this way.

5. Focus on networking

One of the most important things in the field of brand management is definitely networking. Why? Well, because you can’t manage a brand on your own. You need content writers, web designers, analyst specialists, social media managers, and more. Even if you do some of these things (for smaller projects) on your own, you still may need someone to ask for advice when going gets tough. In other words, start mingling with professionals from your industry.

6. Keep growing as a professional

The field of branding, marketing, and brand management in general, is the one that evolves quite rapidly. This means that you’ll have to follow journals, do independent research, and keep attending seminars, trade shows, and keep taking courses on new trends. Also, regardless of how long you spend in the field, you can always use it with a bit of mentoring from someone a tad more seasoned than you. This is why networking is so important and should never be neglected. Furthermore, every single one of these courses and seminars that you get crossed off your checklist should be listed on your resume and included in your portfolio.

7. Build a personal brand

Previously, we’ve talked about a formal education, experience in the field, and seminars that you need to attend in order to grow as a professional. Well, wrapping all of this up in a unique nice-looking package can be even more important. What you need to bear in mind is the fact that building a personal brand takes time and patience. First of all, you need to make your own website, start a blog (this is paramount), and start producing some niche-relevant content. This establishes you as an authority within the field. You can also leverage your social media influence by being active on your social media profiles. Needless to say, LinkedIn always takes precedence.

Conclusion

In the end, one of the things you need to consider is actually talking to a brand manager and inquiring about their experience in the field. Ask them to tell you the truth about what it’s like, seeing as how it’s not an easy career path to tread upon. Only when you’re 100 percent certain should you proceed with some of these steps.

Local Branding

IRS Tax Appeals: All That You Need To Know

Getting in trouble with the IRS is something that no one would want to do. But this does not mean that they are always right. There could be times that you may not agree with their decision, whether it is a change they have made to your tax return or audit notice they have sent to you. As a taxpayer, you have the right to appeal the decision as an effort to resolve the disagreement. This means that you can still question the IRS but you should do it only when you are very sure and can prove that they are wrong. At the same time, you need to be aware of the procedure that you have to follow for getting a favorable result to your appeal. Here are the facts that you must absolutely know about IRS tax appeals before filing one.

Submitting a written protest

If you want to exercise your right to file an IRS tax appeal, you have to write a formal written protest first. The letter has to be signed and mailed to the IRS well before the deadline given on the report they have shared. The protest document should have your contact information along with an affirmative statement that you want to use your right to appeal. Also, provide a copy of the IRS notification you received and a complete explanation of your appeal. Additionally, you need to attach relevant documents that support the appeal. Keep a copy of the submitted protest for future reference. Once you send this letter, you will get a response from the IRS stating that your case will be transferred to the Appeals Division.

IRS Appeals Office

The IRS has an impartial Appeals Division that specifically looks after the resolution of appeals. The Appeals Division is nationwide and your case goes to the nearest Appeals Office. The office is separate from the other offices which investigate tax returns and audit them. This means that you can expect an impartial judgment in case you file an appeal. If you get written notification of an adjustment to your return by the IRS, you can request an appeals conference. This is an informal meeting where an impartial officer convenes the settlement of the dispute just as a judge does in court. While you can handle the appeal by yourself, the better option is to let a professional attorney do it for you. If you are not satisfied with the decision made in the Appeals Office, you may then file a lawsuit in court.

Filing a lawsuit

Obviously, filing a lawsuit is the only option if the appeals officer does not give a favorable verdict. If you plan to do so, you must have a seasoned tax attorney to handle the case. Of course, you may represent your case on your own but having a professional doing it makes you feel confident and improves your chances as well. You are required to pay the disputed tax amount first and then file for a refund in the Court of Federal Claims or a U.S. District Court.

Appealing IRS collections

The IRS will start collecting the tax debt you owe in case you do not get a favorable judgment in the Appeals Office or the court. At this stage, you can no longer challenge the validity of the debt you owe to the tax authorities. Still, you can raise a question on the methods that they use to collect the tax debt. In case the federal government gets a property lien, the taxpayer is entitled to a hearing right after receiving written notification of the lien. Alternatively, the IRS can collect the outstanding taxes using levies which may result in freezing the assets in the bank account or wage garnishments. However, the IRS must give advance notice before enforcing a levy or alien. You have the right to an appeal if they fail to provide the notice. But the appeal will not relieve you of the liability to pay your tax debt though it may delay the collection.

Now that you understand how tax appeals work, you can avail the advantage of one if you want to exercise this right against a wrongful action by the IRS. Still, the appeal will get you the desired benefit only if you are on the right side of the law and follow the right procedure as well. So you should be very sure before appealing and taking the case to the court. Also, having a seasoned tax lawyer gives you better chances of securing a verdict in your favor.

Local Branding

The Complete Guide on Outdoor Current Transformers

Let’s start with the necessary knowledge you need to understand what outdoor current transformers are and how they work.

What Is a Transformer, and How Does it Work?

A transformer is an electrical apparatus that is designed to convert alternating current from one voltage to another. It can be planned to either “step up” or “step down” works and voltages based on the magnetic induction principle. A transformer has no moving parts. This means that it’s an entirely static and solid-state device made to insure under normal operating conditions a long and hassle-free life.

A transformer is made of two or more coils of insulated wire wound which are placed on a laminated steel core. When voltage is introduced to one coil (the primary), it magnetizes the iron core. Then the voltage is induced into the other coil, which is called the output or secondary coil. The change of voltage, also known as voltage ratio, between the secondary and the primary is affected by the turns ratio of the two coils.

What Are Outdoor Current Transformers?

Current transformers, also known as “CT”, are devices used to transform current from high to low. In this way, power can be controlled and measured. This type of transformers can convert current to an accurate ratio so to allow an attached instrument to receive the current without running full power through the tool itself.

An outdoor current transformer has a primary coil made with one or more turns of heavy wire. It is always connected in series in the circuit where the current is measured. The secondary coil is made of many turns of fine wire, which should always be connected across the ammeter terminals.

Outdoor current transformers are made of a core as well as a primary and a secondary winding. In particular, when an alternating current flows through the primary winding, that’s when a magnetic flux is created. Then it induces an alternating current in the secondary winding. After that, this alternating current is proportional to the current located in its primary.

Besides, outdoor current transformers are also known as “step-down transformers”. Once the current is reduced, you can safely monitor and measure it with an ammeter. Outdoor current transformers can perform circuit control. They can also play roles for current limiting and safety protection.

Here is where you can find outdoor current transformers:

  • Electrical substations
  • Generating stations
  • Commercial electric power distribution

What Are The Main Types of Outdoor Current Transformers?

  • Wound Current Transformer – This type of outdoor current transformer is connected physically in series to the conductor. The conductor carries the measured current and lets it flow in the circuit. The magnitude of the secondary current depends a lot on the turns ratio of the transformer.
  • Toroidal Current Transformer – These outdoor current transformers are shaped like a doughnut and don’t contain a primary winding. Besides, the line carrying the current, which is flowing in the network, is threaded through a hole or window in the toroidal outdoor current transformer. This type of outdoor current transformers is highly efficient and yet creates a minimal excess noise while at the same provide little excess leakage inductance.
  • Bar-type Current Transformer – This type of outdoor current transformer relies on the actual table or bus-bar of the main circuit. That’s its primary winding, which equals to a single turn. Bar-type outdoor current transformers are entirely insulated from the high operating voltage of the system. Besides, they are usually bolted to the device which is carrying the device.

How Do You Select Outdoor Current Transformers?

  1. Determine the primary voltage and frequency you need
  2. Select the secondary voltage that best suits your needs
  3. Establish the capacity required in volt-amperes. You can do so by multiplying the load current (amperes) by the load voltage (volts) for single-phase. You should always select a transformer which is larger than the actual load.

Conclusion

Now that you are more familiar with the concept of outdoor current transformers, it’s time to get yours. You can spend hours online searching for a suitable option, but we wouldn’t suggest you do that. That’s why we would recommend Guangdong Sihui Instrument Transformer Works as one of the most reliable outdoor current transformer manufacturers. Visit their official website to learn more.

Local Branding

3 Aspects to Consider When Finding the Best Under Bridge Inspection Truck

Deteriorating and damaged bridges are a major concern to the transport infrastructure companies. Currently, there are over 500,000 bridges that are more than 40 years of age. Not only is that one in every nine of these bridges considered deficient. What’s more, these bridges are nearing their initial service life.

Millions of dollars are used to inspect these bridges and to make sure they are structurally sound and functional. Bridges are a vital component to the economic growth of a country. With you have poor bridges, it means that goods will be delayed to the port and also to the market. And that where the under-bridge inspection truck takes the whole bridge inspection routine to a whole new level.

Not only does the bridge inspection truck make the work more manageable, but it also ensures efficiency and overall productivity of the whole team.

Finding the best under Bridge Inspection Truck

For you to get the best under bridge inspection vehicle, there are a few factors that you have to have in mind. Here are some of the considerations you should think of when buying an under-bridge inspection vehicle.

1. Location

We all know how difficult it can be to find the right bridge inspection truck for sale. On top of that, you might not always find legit bridge inspection vehicle manufacturers. That is why it’s always a good idea to find a manufacturer near you. Or even a manufacturer that has an excellent customer support platform. In case any issues arise with the equipment, you will be able to access the team that builds the vehicle.

2. Purpose of the Bridge

There are different types and sizes of bridges. This will majorly dictate the type and level of maintenance the bridge needs. Therefore, if you know the purpose of the bridge you will be working on, then you can identify the type of under bridge inspection vehicle to use.

3. Manufacturer

Each company has its own regulations and products. So, it’s always a good idea to do a background check on the company you are planning to buy the under-bridge vehicle from. Take a long look at the company’s credentials to see whether it has obtained the certifications required to produce under bridge inspection trucks. More to that, check on the feedback from their previous buyers. With that information, you will know what to expect from the vehicle.

Before You Go…

As you can see, where you buy your under-bridge inspection equipment matters a lot. Aside from having a team inspecting the bridge, you will also need the right vehicle. That said, check out some of the best platform type Bridge inspection vehicles that will help improve your services.

The good news is, at Hangzhou Special Automobile, you will get a range of different under the bridge inspection vehicles for you. It is a professional manufacturer certified to ISO9001:2008, ISO14001:2004 and GB/T28001, with whom you will get the best inspection vehicle that will serve you for years to come. Its top-of-the-line under-bridge inspection trucks are widely used in South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Zambia, and Maldives. Take your time and go through the inspection available.

Bat removal tips
Local Branding

Bat Removal In Grand Rapids

Grand Rapids is a city of constant economic expansion. With no signs of slowing down, Grand Rapids continues to grow and add to its stock of homes, businesses, and other buildings. However, as the city soars to new heights, local bat species have less room to spread their wings. In constant search for safe shelter, bats are now turning to residential and commercial properties for vacant space to settle down. This has created an expanded need for professional bat removal.

Bat Trapping Troubles

Bats are intelligent creatures, but they often can’t tell the difference between n building where they are unwelcome and an underground cave. Once bats enter your home or business, they can quickly roost, reproduce, and start to raise their young. Typically, a multitude of bats gather in the same roost to spend maternity season in a safe and contained colony. Unfortunately, this means that your infestation can double within just a few months.

Although bats can bring devastating damage to your building, there are severe consequences for dealing with them on your own. Multiple bat species are state- endangered and protected by Michigan law, which means unlicensed removal is prohibited. Unless you seek professional wildlife management for your bat infestation, you’re at risk of violating the law while putting wild animals in harm’s way.

Dangers of DIY Bat Removal

Removing bats and moving on from their mess takes time and careful cleanup, and one false step anywhere in the process could cause severe damage. For example, conducting a faulty exclusion could accidentally trap bats within a confined space and fatally injure them inside your home or business—leaving behind a foul odor that could potentially attract even more animals. Likewise, mishandling bat guano could cause airborne spores to spread disease and severe infection. Some of the most common contagions spread by bats include:

● Histoplasmosis – an infectious disease that can cause symptoms ranging from fever to fatality
● Rabies – which requires immediate medical attention to remedy severe symptoms

To limit the risk of infection to you or your residents, tenants, guests, and pets, the exclusion of bats from your home or business should only be attempted by professional pest removers.

Hangings bats in their natural habitat

Signals of a Bat Infestation

A bat infestation isn’t always obvious. However, there are a few signs that definitely indicate an issue. Although you won’t be able to narrow down the exact species, here are some warning signals to tell if your pest problem is the result of bat behavior.

● Visible bat feces in piles of thin, black pellets
● Bat sightings near your property around dusk or dawn
● Grease marks near entry points, or on walls, ceilings, and floors
● Rustling and squeaking noises during late hours
● Sights or strong smells of urine

If the above signs are present in your building, contact expert pest removal services immediately to survey your space, understand the details of your wildlife issue, and quickly get started on a humane solution to carefully guide your property from removal to restoration.

Grand Rapids Bat Removal and Prevention

If bats are getting comfortable in your Grand Rapids property, the team of trained pest removal technicians at Critter Control® of Grand Rapids can control your bat problem and create a system that keeps your property in prime condition while still ensuring the safety of protected bats. Starting with your first inspection, the source of your infestation will be determined and a systematic approach will be designed to alleviate your bat problems. Then, local and state wildlife laws will be consulted to ensure a humane and regulated removal. Finally, all entryways will be sealed, interior spaces sanitized, and any damage to your attic and insulation will be restored.

Local BrandingPersonal Branding

8 Outstanding Customer Service Tips

Having outstanding customer service is the best way to make your business stand out from the competition and keep customers loyal and buying your products. If you want to ensure that you are giving the best that you can, follow the tips listed below.

1. Know Your Products

This may seem like a given, but you may be surprised at you and your staff’s inability to answer some of your customer’s most common questions. Before you are able to offer outstanding customer service, make sure you and all your employees know the products inside and out and can anticipate and answer any questions that might arise.

2. Have Trained Staff

Every person on your team should know what is expected of them when they interact with customers. Even if it’s not in their job description to have contact with customers on a daily basis, you never know when they might have to fulfill this role. Make sure they know how to talk to and act around customers. This will ensure that customers get the best service no matter who they talk to on your staff.

3. Be Respectful

Often, when a person is dealing with customer service, there will be emotions involved. That person might be upset or disappointed about your product or service, and they may not be able to keep themselves under control. When you and your employees deal with this person, be respectful of the customer’s position and don’t let you or your employee’s emotions make the situation worse.

The goal is to make the customer feel better about what happened—they may not always walk away happy, but they should walk away in a better mood when they approached. It can be hard to deal with an emotional individual, but if you and your employees stay calm and cool, this will ensure that the problem can be worked out without anyone else getting upset.

4. Listen

Listening to your customers is one of the most important aspects of giving outstanding service. Not only does it involve hearing what they are saying, but it also means taking into account their tone and body language. These can giveaway that the customer is upset, and listening to what they have to say will help you find the best solution to their problem.

5. Be Responsive

It can be incredibly frustrating and upsetting for a customer to be looking for service and be denied. Whether they are trying to talk to someone in person, on the phone, or online, the longer they have to wait, the more their emotions are going to take over. It’s better to let them know that someone isn’t available at the moment but will get back to them as soon as possible than to just leave them hanging. It still might make your customers upset, but at least they’ll know that someone will be getting back to them.

Of course, you can’t just say that someone will be getting back to them and not follow through. Make sure the customer is contacted in the promised timeframe to deliver outstanding customer service and make them happy.

6. Correct Customers the Right Way

There was a point in time when the motto was that the customer was always right. This led to a lot of problems and people who felt entitled—even though they weren’t. When a customer calls in to get service and you or your employees know they have been misinformed, make sure to correct them in the right way.

Consider saying something like, “I would really like to help you, but you have been given some incorrect information.” This lets them know that you will still work with them and opens them up to the correct information.

7. Get Feedback

If you really want to know how to improve your customer service, ask the customers directly. You can do this through surveys or by having ScoutMI Mystery Shopping come in and scout out the place. This will let you know what is being done right and what needs to be improved.

8. Be Kind

The most important thing you can do to have outstanding customer service is to be kind. It takes no effort to say nice things and make a customer feel good, but it can have a lasting and mood-changing impact.

Choose your vape juice
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How To Choose The Best Vape Juice

Right now, a massive number of people are shifting from smoking cigarettes to vaping, and it’s all quite justified because, first of all, vaping is a healthier option. Second of all, there are plenty of flavors of vape juice available in the market, so people get to enjoy a variety of flavors instead of sticking to the tobacco one.

It’s great to have so much variety of flavors, but at the same time, for the new vapers, it can be quite overwhelming to pick one. But don’t worry because if you are also new to vaping, then we are here to guide you. Today in this article, we are going to jot down some of the best tips that can help you choose the best vape juice that suits your taste buds.

Do take notes, especially if you want your first vaping experience to be extraordinary!

What flavor do you want?

1- Research Brands of Vape Juice

There are several brands out there with the best e-juice flavors, and this is the tricky part because you are supposed to do some extensive research on all these brands before making a final move. In this case, the internet can be your best friend because, with just a single click, you can have access to all the best vaping brands around you. So, do use Google, take your time, and pick out what others consider some of the best brands and then study them one by one.

2- Reviews

Online reviews have a lot to say about different products and brands. Again, you can use the internet in this regard and first search for the best brands with the best vape juices and then read what people have to say about these brands. The best part is that with the help of these reviews, you can even figure out the best flavor that’s offered by a brand.

3- Coupons

You’d love to save some money on your favorite e-juice, right? Well, if yes, then the wiser thing to do is to search for online coupon codes first. All you have to do is to type on Google “Ejuice vapor coupon code” and you’ll have all the results right on your screen. Yes, you read that right! These codes can really save you some money, so do try this technique.

4- Your Taste

The most important thing that matters is your taste, and what flavor would you like in an e-juice? Do you want to try the apple flavor? Are you a big fan of berries? Or do you want something similar to your cigarettes? You are supposed to identify your needs and your taste requirements first and then buy an e-juice. There are several flavors available in the market, and if you don’t know what you like, things can get really confusing for you, and if you don’t want that, then work on your taste first!

Many flavors an nicotine levels

5- Nicotine Levels

This is the most critical thing to consider while buying a vape juice. If you are trying to quit cigarettes, then make sure to opt for the e-juice that comes with lesser nicotine levels. But if you haven’t ever smoked a cigarette, then buy the juice that comes with no nicotine in it as it’s a safer option. This is something you should talk about with a vaping pro and then make a purchase decision.

Conclusion

These are the tips you need to consider before choosing the best vape juice. Use all the tips that we have mentioned, and we can bet on the fact that you will land on a quality e-juice that tastes really good. Now make a purchase and let us know what you think about vaping and the e-juice that you picked.