Thursday, 22nd August 2019 | Small business financing Canada,Business loans for bad credit
How to improve your business’s credit score
Your business credit score helps to establish your company’s health and trustworthiness. In many respects, it operates in the same way as a personal credit score—opening (or closing) pathways to products, financing, and preferred rates. Learn how working with iCapital can help accelerate this process.
Whether you’re just starting your business or in a position where you must repair a low credit score, building up your credit should be at the top of your list. Your business credit score helps to establish your company’s health and trustworthiness. In many respects, it operates in the same way as a personal credit score—opening (or closing) pathways to products, financing, and preferred rates. Learn how working with iCapital can help accelerate this process.
All about your credit score
Your credit score is a simple three-digit number arrived at from information gathered by the credit bureaus in Canada that is intended to give lenders, governments, and others a snapshot of how you use credit. The idea is simple: the higher the number, the better your score. In other words, a higher score means you’re less of a risk as a borrower.
How your credit score is calculated
Obviously, events like contact with a collections agency or bankruptcy will negatively affect your credit score, but there are other factors taken into consideration as well including the amount of debt you carry, how many times you’ve applied for credit, and how long you’ve had credit. This last variable can negatively affect new businesses. Establishing a good credit score is as important as repairing a bad one.
How to improve your credit score
One often-overlooked way to boost your business’s credit score is to use it—responsibly. This might seem counter-intuitive but consider this: if you don’t carry any credit at all, how can a credit bureau assess your risk as a borrower?
Applying for and using various credit products can be an extremely effective way to establish or repair credit. In any and all cases, you must adhere to the tenets of responsible use:
- Make your payments on time. Always.
Late payments reflect terribly on your ability to manage your finances. If necessary, set up automatic withdrawals or calendar alerts for your due dates. - If you can’t meet the entire debt, make the minimum payment.
Simply disappearing until you’ve got an entire payment is bad practice. Always pay at least the minimum. - Use your credit, but don’t max it out.
Having credit and not using it is not going to help your score. Use your credit on purchases you can afford, and then pay them off. Carrying a high debt load (or maxing out your line of credit) is a warning sign to lenders. - Consider your applications for credit carefully.
The amount of “hits” on your credit report can affect your score. Every time you apply for credit, a note goes on your account. If your report shows that you’ve been applying for numerous products it can be a warning sign to lenders. Select the products that work best for you and limit your applications.
Choosing your business credit accounts wisely
Chances are you’ve already got a business bank account and credit card—and if not, get on this. Beyond these basic tools, you might also want to consider applying for a gas card or an office supply store account. The best way to establish your company as a trustworthy borrower is to get credit and make your payments on time, and that’s where an iCapital product can really work in your favour.
When you take out an iCapital term loan or merchant cash advance, you select a repayment schedule. Usually, a small amount is automatically withdrawn on a daily or weekly basis until the financing is paid in full. The regularity and frequency of your repayments are a convincing demonstration of your solvency and responsibility.
A good business credit score is an important part of running a successful business. If your score is low—whether because you’re a new company or you have made financial missteps in the past—you’ll need a strategy to improve it. The careful selection and use of appropriate products are the best way to establish a healthy score.
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Customer retention best practices for your small business
In 2023, the business landscape will be more dynamic, with constantly evolving trends and changing customer demands. You can keep your customers engaged and returning for more with the right strategies. Here are some invaluable customer retention best practices to help you stand out from the crowd and keep your customers coming back for more:
Embrace Omnichannel Sales
The pandemic accelerated the shift to online shopping, and customers are now more comfortable than ever buying online. This means providing a seamless experience across all channels, from your website to social media platforms, mobile apps, and online marketplaces. Investing in innovative technologies such as AI and automation can deliver personalized and efficient products that set you apart from the competition.
Use Social Media to Build Relationships
Social media is a powerful tool for building relationships with your customers. You must use social media to build a community around your brand, engage with your customers, and create meaningful relationships. By actively listening to your customers and responding to their queries, feedback, and concerns, you can show that you care and establish trust. Furthermore, social media allows you to showcase your brand's unique personality and values, which can help you stand out from the competition. Sharing customer stories, testimonials, and reviews can also be an effective way to humanize your brand and build social proof.
Leverage Data Analytics
Data analytics can help you understand your customers better and identify opportunities to improve customer retention. You can identify opportunities to improve customer retention and create personalized experiences by tracking customer behaviour, preferences, and feedback. Investing in data analytics tools can help you make data-driven decisions and optimize your marketing and sales strategies to meet your needs.
Be Transparent and Authentic
Customers are increasingly demanding transparency and authenticity from the brands they do business with. Customers are looking for open and honest businesses about their practices, policies, and values. This requires being transparent about pricing, shipping, and returns policies and using authentic and inclusive marketing messages. Doing so can build trust with your customers, which is essential for long-term loyalty. Customers are also more likely to recommend businesses they perceive as transparent and authentic.
Focus on Customer Experience
Customer experience will be a major differentiator for small businesses. As a small business owner, providing exceptional customer experience across all touchpoints should be a top priority. This means investing in customer service training for your staff, optimizing your website for usability, and gathering customer feedback to improve your products and services continuously.
These customer retention best practices can help your small business to stand out from the competition, improve customer loyalty, and grow your business. By embracing omnichannel sales, using social media to build relationships, leveraging data analytics, being transparent and authentic, and focusing on customer experience, you can create a loyal customer base that will continue to do business with you and recommend your brand to others.
Sales ,Marketing ,Management