Many people today are genuinely concerned about threats to our survival presented by global warming, carbon pollution and other environmental matters. Which means it is quite legitimate to let them know you are aware of their concerns and are doing something.
If you can then find a way to turn your new-found frugality to promotional and public relations advantage, why not?
All good reasons for following the tips below to
Which parts of our activities can we save money on? How much will we save? Where can we benefit in our pubic relations, advertising and sales efforts? Do we save management time or staff time? How do we go about it?
There are a number of areas you can save both money and time, mostly administrative. For instance:
- Postage
- Printing
- Packaging and labeling
- Bank charges
- Stationery
- Courier services
The amounts of each will depend upon your current spend and the time taken for each. Unless you are already maximising use of your existing technology in each area there will be at least some saving and an opportunity to tell your market place that you are employing environmentally friendly practices in your daily activities. Let your audience know by telling them in:
- Advertising Footnotes
- Email Footers
- Your Printed Stationery
- Press Release Footnotes
- Online Publications
- A Statement on Your Web Site
To some of your potential customers this will be a significant element among all those messages you give out telling them yours is a business worth dealing with.
From now on, instead of printing and posting invoices, proposals, reminders, cheques, anything you would normally send by post, stop and think first. Is it practical to send that as an email attachment? If not, why not? Remember the software is already at your disposal. You can convert to PDF format with most documents and send them quite safely.
Timely and Safer, Too
Are you late sending that document? Are you afraid of missing the deadline? Emails generally take moments to arrive at their destination once sent. It is very easy to ask for confirmation of receipt by either telephone or email. It is also very easy for your IT department or hosting service for the smaller business, to sort it out quickly if there is a problem. This level of tracking and audit trail is simply not available with traditional post and you need never miss another deadline.
How about the element of trust, inevitably lost when a cheque goes missing in the post? Do you really believe that’s what happened, or do you question in your own mind whether the sent it? Your suppliers feel exactly the same way. With electronic payments if a payment you make goes astray you call your bank and they push it through in a matter of a couple of hours. Your relationship with your supplier is unharmed. For a payment inwards, you ask the customer to call their bank. A couple of hours later you can see the money in your account. Confidence is restored all round.
In conclusion, with a few clicks you have saved an awful lot of stamps, paper, ink, envelopes, signing, trekking to the postbox, bank charges and valuable staff time. Few banks charge for electronic transactions. On a business account most charge you both for drawing cheques and for paying them in. For the smaller business this is what internet banking is all about.
For the larger business postroom costs are a serious overhead. Proportionately even more serious savings are to be gained using these methods. You probably have BACS facilities already. Why not extend them for smaller and irregular payments? For almost any level of large business transactions, serious money can be saved over any reasonable period.
Make Your Life Easier
These are just a few of the more obvious ideas which spring to mind. Every business is different. Take a little time out to analyse your own company’s processes and work flow. Use this as an opportunity to identify areas for further savings and PR openings. We believe it will also make life that little bit easier for you and your staff.
Your Correspondents Can Gain, Too
Do your correspondents require multiple copies of what you send them? Are they having to photocopy for distribution or scan for electronic use? Why not make their lives significantly easier by sending documents, audio clips, video clips as email attachments? Your correspondents will appreciate your consideration. They will be able to distribute and reproduce far more easily. You will enjoy improved working methods and cost savings.