Johannesburg, April, 4 2020: The world of business is constantly changing and the Covid-19 has contributed to rapid change. How can businesses adjust? The world we know is changing in the face of surviving Covid-19. South Africa is about to begin a 21-day lockdown period. People are scrambling for food, other living essentials and urgently arranging home office spaces. One might imagine that the rules for building a successful business have also changed. But while the world may be gripped by fear and panic, it is now more than ever that companies need to keep customers at the centre of their focus. Agile business innovations are a necessity to survive the Covid-19 pandemic. This means pushing the boundaries of creativity. It means questioning the status quo on how to engage with customers. Importantly, it means listening with real compassion in order to deeply understand what customers are needing now as they watch their worlds turn upside down. Thus, business agility means emotional agility. Adapt Quickly for Customer and Employee Experience For business, this implies a serious need to adapt quickly to changing situations resulting in changing customer needs. Businesses have to listen and act with empathy to assist customers feel safe and secure amidst a pandemic that brings uncertainty and insecurity to everyone. Agility may be defined as the ability to respond rapidly and adapt to changing circumstances in the market and environment in the most cost-effective ways without losing drive or vision. According to Blake Morgan, customer experience futurist and author, the most customer-centric companies have a good balance of 4 important principles: innovation, environmentalism and sustainability, employee experience, and customer centricity. During this time, we see the importance of all 4 of these attributes as companies need to innovate while being mindful of our current environmental and social (or lack thereof!) conditions. Now more than …
Bosch Rexroth South Africa Group appoints first distributor in Tanzania
Hytec Services Africa, a member of the Bosch Rexroth South Africa Group of Companies , has awarded distribution rights in the United Republic of Tanzania to Magare Company Limited. An electrical and mechanical engineering company with offices in Mwanza and Dar Es Salaam, Magare’s distribution rights are effective from 1 March 2020. The company, which supplies services to general industry and the mining sector, will distribute all Bosch Rexroth Group Company products throughout Tanzania. In selecting a distributor, numerous companies were evaluated against a set of pre-determined criteria to establish the best potential business partner. “Magare has a division specialising in mechanical and electrical component sales, and they service the same customer base as Hytec Services Africa,” says Louis Potter, Africa Development Manager, HSA. “These factors, among others, perfectly position the company to be a proud distributor for the full product range from the Bosch Rexroth South Africa Group of Companies. Tanzania has a large mining industry with a broad array of needs, and HSA’s goal is to provide specialist solutions to address these specific customer requirements. “Tanzania is a target country for Bosch Rexroth products,” Potter says. “We have developed good relationships with the larger mining groups to the point that more attention closer to home became necessary. Magare is the perfect in-country partner for us to ‘Move now, Drive tomorrow, Shape Africa’.” The company will perform a sales service with specialist support from South Africa. “We intend building on this relationship through knowledge transfer to ultimately include service and repair capabilities in the future,” Potter concludes. As Africa Development Manager, Potter will spend significant time in Tanzania to assist Magare as it grows into its role as a Bosch Rexroth partner. These long-term partnership investments enable the Bosch Rexroth Group to take its products, services and expertise …
Snupit Expands Internationally: Now Operating in India
Snupit goes global by launching services in India. South Africa’s leading online platform connecting locals with professionals and businesses is proud to announce its international expansion in 2020. Snupit is now operating in India. Their new website for India can be accessed at www.snupit.com. Avinash Samlall, Snupit’s Founder and CEO, commented on this, “We’re both very proud and super excited about this. It’s a perfect way to start 2020. India is the fifth biggest economy in the world. The country offers some amazing opportunities and we’re looking forward to making the most of them. India is bustling with professionals, freelancers and small businesses and we believe there’s also a solid demand for their skills. Snupit is in the perfect position to connect these two.” While for its first, South Africa based website their domain was www.snupit.co.za, the company has gone with the .com TLD for simplicity. Users can visit Snupit India by going to www.snupit.com. Currently Snupit India is offering its services in the following states: • Ahmedabad • Bengaluru • Chennai • Dehli • Hyderabad • Kolkata • Mumbai • Pune More states will be added as Snupit reviews the response it’s getting from existing territories. Mr. Samlall added, “We’re already getting great feedback from users about how people are using Snupit in India. You can see some of these success stories we have published on our new site. One user who wanted a building contractor posted a job at night, and woke up to find several pros had responded. This is the power and simplicity of Snupit and we’re confident that it’ll be a big success in India.” This expansion is one of the biggest news for the company, despite Snupit has been very busy with numerous initiatives and celebrated several milestones. For instance, just a few months ago in October 2019, Snupit completed a million requests on its platform. And earlier the same year, the company had introduced the Snupit Elite Pro …
Spend your lockdown skilling up
Being homebound is our reality for the foreseeable future, but it doesn’t have to spell disaster for your income says Jacqueline Raw, Owner and Founder of marketing consultancy, Ycagel. She says that the freelancer industry is growing, with no shortage of demand from organisations looking for skilled people to help them grow their businesses. “Anyone who has fears around the stability of their income has a massive opportunity to upskill during this nationwide lockdown and set themselves up for future success.” Jacqueline adds that there are three professions that are in particular demand and she offers advice on the best platforms one can leverage to upskill yourself…fast! Social Media Content Creators: Social Media is a booming industry and with more and more organisations and brands realising that they need to take it seriously. As a result there is a massive demand for good quality content producers. So, the very first thing you need to wrap your head around is how to write copy that sells. This is an incredibly helpful skill to have and is totally learnable. Websites like WordStream are great resources to reference if you’re looking to nail copy! Also, if you’re creating copy for specific platforms – you can Google tips on the types of copy that work for each platform. Google Analytics and Google AdWord Gurus: Digital is the biggest growth opportunity for every organisation out there. With this reality comes the need for business to understand and interpret the data and the feedback that is delivered through their online channels. This poses a wonderful opportunity for a keen freelancer! If you get excited by the notion of geeking out on analytics courses during this lockdown, there is a very profitable side-hustle waiting for you! I like going right to the source – Google Academy – it offers free, easy-to-understand short courses to help you get a handle of and master Google platforms. Social Media and Video Marketing Editors Video content …
Renishaw Hills’ resident, Terry Smith, to record live concert for nation in lockdown
As day by day, more countries go into lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus, artists are getting innovative in their use of online spaces as a way to reach out to communities and ease anxiety during this time. South African musician, Terry Smith – a resident of Renishaw Hills on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast – will be joining this global #athometogether movement by recording a ‘virtual concert’ that will be shared on Facebook Live on Friday, 3 April at midday. “I thought that, in this time of isolation, everyone needs some diversion from the lockdown,” explained ‘Triffic’ Terry. “Most people relate to humour and music which is what I provide in a variety of forms. I had seen other artist sharing their songs, so I decided to write some humorous songs to make people smile.” Playing everything from guitar and bass to harmonica and keyboard, Terry’s musical genre is quite extensive and includes country, blues and rock with a splash of pop. His musical career spans from his school days where he performed in talent shows, formed rock bands and went on to win the 1967 ‘Battle of the Bands’. Playing with his band, Birds of a Feather (later changed to Asylum), Terry and his crew have kept audiences entertained with their upbeat blues and rock covers. For his latest performance, Terry will rely on his son’s assistance to put together his first online show, during which he will play a number of classics to lighten the nation’s mood. He’s also working on a song that references his life at Renishaw Hills’ estate: “The place is so idyllic with the conservancy and the sea in easy reach. Security is superb and the community is very relaxed and friendly.” Terry has described the notion of his upcoming concert ‘surreal’ against the backdrop of his musical career: “I’ve always played to live audiences and only watched professionally-produced videos of superstars online. I had never even considered (or had the technical know-how!) putting myself on the internet. This …
A Diamond is Forever With Your Diamonds
Pretoria, March, 31 2020: If you are in the market for diamonds, engagement rings, tennis bracelets or any custom jewellery etc, it’s worth taking note of the following: Visser du Plessis of Your Diamonds (previously known as Diamond Investment Brokers), has been a household name in this industry throughout South Africa, but especially Gauteng, since the late 1980s. Visser’s first statement initially shocked me. “If I have an unhappy client, it’s his/her fault “ Then he explained “If a client is unhappy, however small the complaint might be, I cannot fix it if I’m not told. It is company policy that we will rather lose money before we have one single unhappy client”. Having experienced bad service myself, once the money has left my wallet, I appreciated this approach. Secondly, Visser informed me that Your Diamonds is probably the only jewellery company that gives an unconditional money back guarantee for a limited period. “Talk is cheap and I don’t want anyone to blindly trust what we say. They can compare our prices, quality and workmanship after the fact and at no risk to their pocket” (View engagement rings for sale from Your Diamonds here) Probably the biggest benefit to the client is that this company spends a lot of time to ‘buy their profit’. Du Plessis explained that he always pre-fixes the selling price at a below market level. This brings in more clients, but in order to make profit, he now has to source his stock at better prices. Never will Your Diamonds take the easy route and just add on to the price when they pay more. You can’t charge less than the market if you didn’t pay less For an even better deal, Du Plessis negotiates the following with every client - If they promise to post a review, the client immediately gets an even better price. This places the responsibility squarely on Your Diamonds to perform. If they do well, then the client’s testimonial becomes part of their advertising campaign. With the discount, the …
How to build your Brand during tough times like Covid-19
Johannesburg, March, 30 2020: Your brand identity is what makes you recognizable to your customers. It is the face of your brand. A brand identity comprises of logos, typography, colours, packaging and messaging. It reinforces the reputation of the brand, attracts new customers and keeps existing customers feeling warm and fuzzy. Because of the Covid-19 outbreak, now, more than ever before, a strong and recognizable brand is imperative. So ask yourself: Would your favourite shoe brand be as successful if they kept changing the logo? Probably not. If you want to keep your brand strong or make it stronger here are a couple of valuable points from Tyra Goosen at Promovate, a leading branded promotional gifts & corporate gifts company in South Africa to keep in mind. If you want your business to be more successful, creating a strong and recognizable brand is important. Would your favourite shoe brand be as successful if they kept changing the logo? Probably not. If you want to keep your brand strong or make it stronger here are a couple of points to keep in mind. Personality: I have a strange personality. I come across as a bit off standish to people I just meet. It’s not on purpose, it’s a defence mechanism that I somehow developed to hide the fact that I am cautious and somewhat shy when I meet new people. I fold my arms a lot. After the first conversation, people quickly realise that the “package” (me) isn’t off standish at all. In fact, I am completely the opposite. Your brand identity is the visual representation of your company’s personality and values. Ensure that the way you portray your brand is the message that you want to promote your business. The best way to do this is to ask, “If my company was a person, what would they be like?” I don’t want people to think that I am off standish and rude. I want people to think that I am friendly, likable and approachable. So, I have failed as a brand Less arm crossing and more …
Website Business Launches Rescue Solutions and Tools to Combat Commercial Effects of Coronavirus Crisis
Webshure, is part of a new solution focused initiative, Digital Lifelines, in a bid to combat the devastating commercial implications of the Corona outbreak. Providing a toolkit of practical digital online solutions, the Digital Lifelines initiative is offering SME’s the opportunity to navigate their business using powerful online tools during these uncertain times. Webshure has looked at the ways in which companies can protect themselves, rally and thrive using the features that it provides to its website and app customers both in the UK and around the globe. Webshure has taken the initiative to provide these services free of charge for three months, with no tie in contract, to help businesses get through the lockdown period using tools they need to trade online. Services provided: ? 5 page AI website with ecommerce features ? 5 feature mobile app with food ordering and loyalty and more ? Google G Suite, spreadsheets, document management and online meeting software Grant Stain, CEO, and founder of Digital Lifelines said: "We wanted to do something to help small businesses that are suffering at this time and offer genuinely useful and practical solutions. For example, our mobile apps can provide features such as mobile food ordering, loyalty schemes, online purchasing and more, plus our artificial intelligence websites are capable of generating greater numbers of prospects from visitors. Customers will find that our online products are extremely easy to update, even for a non-techie!.” The scheme is set to run throughout April 2020 with spaces limited due to Webshure team capacity. CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za. …
South African Specialists in Redeployable Camp Systems
Redeployable Camp System Services Offering innovative, turnkey solutions for companies seeking temporary structures, CBRM is one of South Africa’s foremost companies providing top quality redeployable camp systems. Our solutions are perfect for the mining, military, aviation, construction and rental industries, and with our competitive prices, our clients can easily budget this solution into their expenses. Camp systems are also ideal for the luxury accommodation industry, the kind offering safari adventures to remote locations. CBRM and F3Group work with clients from all backgrounds, operating in just about all industries. Our redeployable camp systems can be tailored to the specific needs of our clients and can be either semi-permanent or permanent set ups. Redeployable means the camp can be moved quite easily when necessary, which is exactly why these camps are made for those industries that are always on the move. We have successfully installed camps across the country and have become industry experts in the deployment of camps. Our solutions are designed to be comfortable, durable and affordable. We employ an expert team to handle the often technical camp installation and redeployment. They ensure that the camps are safely constructed and provide exactly what it is that our clients are looking for. Types of Redeployable Camps To cater to our clients, we offer a variety of camp systems, perfect for certain industries. Our solutions are specifically tailored and we work closely with our clients to ensure that they receive a personalized service. Our solutions include canvas tents, luxury tents, large modular systems, prefabricated systems, and PVC fabric units. Military Deployment Camps Although they might not seem like such a common necessity to those who are not in the military, these camps become a mini community for military personnel on deployment. Designed to be a comfortable home away from home, these camps not only offer …
What are your rights within the context of COVID-19?
[Durban, 26 March 2020] As the COVID-19 pandemic tightens its grip on South Africa and a 21-day national lockdown is implemented, companies, employers and employees across the country are hastily navigating a minefield of unfamiliar working conditions and stringent new Regulations that cut across multiple areas of law. Legal technology company, LexisNexis South Africa, has drawn upon its global expertise to launch a COVID-19 Free Resource Centre aimed at informing the public of its rights and responsibilities during this period, as well as the rights and obligations of employers, employees and businesses. The COVID-19 portal provides free access to a convenient online platform housing resources and information that cover a variety of general public themes such as Labour Law, Immigration, Property and Planning, as well as Notices, Court Directives and Regulations pertaining to COVID-19. CEO and Chairperson of the Board of LexisNexis South Africa, Videsha Proothveerajh, said: “Now and then, every country faces a crisis of one kind or another. The difference here is that COVID-19 represents a common enemy that we are all fighting across the globe. It continues to test all aspects of our societies - our people, our infrastructure, our systems and processes - and indeed, even our understanding and implementation of the Rule of Law. This COVID-19 portal is one of our responses as a good corporate citizen that is committed to upholding the Rule of Law and ensuring that the country survives this difficult period.” The site includes commentary from legal experts around the country on emerging themes and topics around COVID-19 matters. Articles published to date on the platform cover some of the most important questions around COVID-19, such as employee rights and employer obligations, immigration rights for foreign nationals working in the country, rental payment problems caused by COVID-19 and demotion as an alternative to retrenchment. LexisNexis’s editorial …