Tag: R&D

Improving your Franchise

Posted by Winflow – June 20, 2011

Business owners typically choose to franchise their business because of the opportunity for aggressive growth. Growth doesn’t stop with franchising though, there are a number of different things you can do to ensure rapid franchise growth. Some ways to improve your franchise include:

  • Improve your value proposition. The best way to guarantee franchise growth is to guarantee the franchisees financial return. The more you do to improve your value proposition, the less support each franchisee will need. This could improve franchise sales and your royalties.
  • Continue research and development. Introduce new products, services or delivery methods as you are franchising.
  • Use your increased buying power to offer franchisees discounts on inventory.
  • Step up your marketing. The more you improve your marketing, the less franchisees have to worry about it. Hire a consumer advertising agency or PR firm. Getting your business publicity will help drive up sales.
  • Set your franchise apart by instituting strong internal communications, developing a Franchise Advisory Council and using franchisee intranet.
  • To sell your franchises faster, step up your marketing game. Instead of providing brochures to potential franchisees, consider providing a DVD or posting a video on your business webpage. This will set you apart from other franchises.
  • Have field support that visits franchises to ensure everything is up to standard. The better the quality is, the better your franchise reputation will be.

For your small business needs, contact the Winflow Financial Group.

Utilizing Customer Data

Posted by Winflow – June 16, 2011

In order to grow your small business it is important to pay attention to your customers’ needs. Many small business have tons of research and development (R&D) data but don’t know what to do with. If you’re having trouble determining how to use customer data to grow you small business, consider the following:

  • Keep you database of customer information up-to-date. Unorganized data is more likely to end up wasting away in a computer system. There are several data management systems you can invest in to help you organize your customer data. These are known as customer relationship management (CRM) systems.
  • Follow legal procedures. There are a number of legal procedures to be aware when collecting customer data. For example, you cannot take contact information from a social networks, such as Facebook, to use as market research.
  • Protect your data. Take pains to protect your data from hackers because accidently disclosing data could lead to lawsuits.
  • Analyze your exisitng data. Look for trends that can help you grow your small business like purchasing history and where customers come from. This will help you determine successful marketing techniques.

For your small business needs, contact the Winflow Financial Group. We can be reached by:

  • Phone:
  • Email:info@winflowfinancial.com
  • The free consultation request form on our website.

 

Canadian Financing Sources for Innovating your Small Business

Posted by Winflow – June 13, 2011

The government of Canada offers a number of programs to fund everything from research and development (R&D) to commercialization. R&D is an important aspect in small business growth. Often times, small business owners are unable to grow their business because of a lack of sufficient funding. If you are currently seeking funding to innovate your small business, determine if you qualify for the following programs:

  • Industrial R&D Fellowships program. This program is for R&D initiatives in the engineering or natural sciences field. You could receive assistance hiring  PHD grad for two years.
  • Strategic Aerospace and Defence Initiative. If your small business is in the defence, aerospace or space and secuirty industry to could receive a loan to cover 30 percent of costs associated with your R&D project.
  • Ontario Innovation Tax Credit. If your small business is located in Ontario, you can claim a 10 percent tax credit for R&D.
  • Going Global Innovation. If your small business is ready to expand to a foreign market, you could receive 75 percent of travel of your travel expenses.

For a complete list of funding available for R&D projects, visit this Canada Business page.

If you need help finding funding for your small business expenses, contact the Winflow Finacn

Research and Development for your Small Business

Posted by Winflow – June 8, 2011

Consumers are all about trends and having the latest product. This is why it is necessary to keep on top of new products, product lines and innovative ideas. Research and development can assist with the following:

  • Learning what type of product the market is looking for.
  • Designing and testing prototypes.
  • Producing a final product or service.

Resources that can assist you with research and development costs, planning and finding R&D teams include:

  • Precarn. This not-for-profit organizations provides access to sources of funding, researchers and innovative businesses.
  • Industry Partnership Program. The Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) can assist you in conducting research and development projects and get help from graduate and post-graduate students.
  • Communications Research Centre’s (CRC) Innovation Centre. The CRC provides affordable research facilities, business development assistance, funding specialists and access to scientists and researchers.
  • Collaborative Research and Development Grants. If your research project has to do with the natural sciences or engineering you could have part of your project costs paid for you.

For a complete list of research and development resources, visit this Canada Business page.

If you have questions about the benefits of research and development, request a free consultation from the Winflow Financial Group.