5 Ways to Reduce Business Costs
If you lease or rent your office space, look for a better deal elsewhere or renegotiate better terms with your existing landlord. Install better insulation and energy efficient doors and windows to cut down on your heating costs and switch to compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs, which use a quarter of the energy of traditional incandescent bulbs, to save electricity and shrink your carbon footprint. Buy your office equipment and furniture second hand to cut down your overhead expenses.
Flooring
One way in which you can reduce business costs is by installing high quality, durable flooring, especially in heavy traffic areas. Flooring in these areas must be able to withstand the demands of everyday use without wearing away and, ideally, be chemical, fire and slip resistant. Some types of durable flooring, such as ceramic tile, hardwood or stone, are expensive and difficult to install, but others, such as injected moulded tiles, offer excellent wear characteristics at a fraction of the cost and trouble.
Travel
If you have a mobile workforce, ask drivers to curb their speed and use Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation devices to increase their miles per gallon and reduce fuel costs. Similarly, eliminate any unnecessary business travel – that is, business travel that doesn't generate revenue – and use budget airlines and accommodation for essential business trips. If possible, ask some or all of your staff to telecommute to save the cost of renting, heating and lighting office space, not to mention time and money spent commuting.
Outsourcing
Consider outsourcing some business functions, such as accounting or information technology, to specialist professionals. Outsourcing the information technology function, for example, can save your business money, resources and time by lifting the burden of having to install, maintain, update and troubleshoot hardware and software. It may also provide you with an opportunity to review the software applications that your business actually uses on an everyday basis and make savings on software licensing costs.
Marketing
Review your marketing and public relations strategies to make sure that you're getting your message across to your target audience in a controlled, cost-effective way. Internet technology, including social news and social networking websites, can provide a highly effective method of communicating with your customer base and need not cost you a fortune. Indeed, communicating with your customers in this way may not only save you money, but may also increase your customer response rate.
Author Bio:
Sophie works alongside an industrial flooring specialist and understands that low costs and high durability are the solution to reducing business costs for the long term.
