Kanban boards are undoubtedly a very good tool for improving workflow efficiency. It allows teams to have a clear view of all work items and control them at different workflow stages. Of course, when considering the creation of a Kanban board, you should keep the team’s needs and Kanban board examples in mind. Therefore, the application of Kanban’s may vary from team to team.

In the following article, we have collected and introduced some good examples of Kanban practice.

Ø Basic Kanban board example

The basic Kanban board is a great start for teams not familiar with the concept of a kanban. It typically contains three to four columns and is not complex. This simple kanban board is a great way for beginners to visualise their work and establish a foundation for highly efficient workflows. Here, the Kanban is applied most organically.

Ø IT Operations Kanban Board Example

The IT operations team has the problem of not being able to prioritise work in the best way. It is due to the huge amount of tasks that IT must perform. The Kanban Board can visualise the workflow and bring significant benefits to the IT operations team.

In addition to using columns to distinguish between flow stages, the team uses Swimlanes to avoid priority conflicts and better understand the importance of the task. After all, Kanban Boards help IT teams plan better, focus on better and shorten delivery times. Based on the capacity of your organisation, your IT team can handle a variety of activities.

Ø Simple kanban board for task management

Managing all team tasks and tracking individual Progress can often be a big headache for project managers. With Kanban Boards, teams can visualise all functions in one space and organise them in an easy to read and understand. Each team can:

• Use the status field to visualise and prioritise the process.
• You can extend complex process steps into your operations and track sub-tasks separately.
• Sort items using rows and swim lanes
• You can show dependencies between tasks to know when each task runs.

Ø Simple Marketing Kanban Board

Marketing teams and projects are known to contain a variety of efforts and variables. Therefore, it is best to use a separate Kanban Board system specialised for different types of processes for effective task tracking. This prime example of a Kanban is set up to trace social media marketing works.

The backlog gathers ideas and marks which tasks to proceed with. Task In Progress explains what the organisation is currently achieving on. You can swiftly recognise whether your operations are designed, copywritten, or reviewed in the secondary process. In addition, all live promotions are recorded in the “In Campaign” field, making it easier to manage. Finally, the line is used to distinguish between weeks and is to be able to plan social media calendar on board.

Bottom Line

All kanban board examples are designed to meet the needs of a particular team. Grasp the needs of your team and build a board along with it. To find the best structure for your team’s work process, you should always improve your kanban board. Depending on the work focus, team functionality, external factors, etc., you can build a Kanban board in various ways. Creating the optimal version of the board is an ongoing process and should reflect all the work environment dynamics.

All eyes will be on Scotland between 31 October to 23 November 2021, as they host the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP26). The COP26 summit aims to bring parties together to hopefully accelerate action towards the Paris Agreement objectives and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. TCOP summit is not only an open forum between nations and global leaders – but large businesses also attend, including a selected few international conglomerates, financiers, and investors. It is well recognised that their presence is crucial due to the part businesses and other significant organisations play in shaping the green economy.

The upcoming COP26 global summit is being seen as an important event for agreeing on the many needed changes to fight climate change. It is the first summit since the 2020 deadline for various elements of the landmark Paris Agreement – which was adopted by 196 countries and territories at COP21 in 2015. It is also a principal focus for China and the United States, which are together accountable for more than 40% of the world’s carbon emissions.

There is substantial political momentum from most nations when it comes to wanting real and lasting change. This includes the joint statement made by the United States and China in April 2021, which pledged together they will cut their carbon emissions by 50-52% below 2005 levels by 2030. The United Kingdom has been targeted with reducing emissions by 78% by 2035.

The current analysis is showing the world nations are not yet doing enough to combat climate change. The planet is on track to warm between three and four degrees Celsius 2100 – this could have some disastrous outcomes. The sea levels will rise, and sizable areas of Earth will become uninhabitable. What happens at COP26 will have a direct impact on the world and our lives. It is clear the importance of COP26, but how does it affect businesses, and why should a company pay attention to what is happening at the conference.

COP26 Will Impact Consumer Behaviour and Business Revenues

People are becoming increasingly aware of the climate crisis, and it is influencing consumer behaviour. As a result, consumers expect businesses to consider sustainability and are willing to pay a premium for services and products that actively care about the environment. The EY Future Consumer Index focused on consumers beyond COVID-19 – reporting that 64% of consumers will pay more attention to the environment, 59% will shop local, and 40% will pay more for sustainable products.

Sustainable consumption is a trend that does not look to be slowing down, and businesses have an opportunity to create value and boost revenue by responding to consumer environmental expectations. For example, some companies have started differentiating themselves by applying carbon footprint labels to share the environmental impact of their products to consumers. The trend of environmentally conscious brands is likely to be accelerated post COP26.

Create New Business Models and Innovation

New business opportunities will be created through the advancing technology, falling cost of capital for green investments, improved regulation for high-emission assets, and increasing price of carbon emissions. In addition, the improved environmental practices may involve the creation of new business models and entirely new products and services. For example, some companies are now looking into alternative building materials that use recycled materials like glass, plastic, and paper.

The rise in carbon pricing significantly impacts opportunities for businesses looking to develop products and solutions that generate carbon credits. Green businesses such as seaweed farming that captures and sequesters carbon or filters that directly remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere will likely thrive post COP26. All business types can get valuable insights into what they can do to become more sustainable and discover potential innovation opportunities by engaging with what is happening at COP26.

Sustainable Businesses Attract and Retain Dynamic Talent

It is not just consumer behaviour that is being impacted by an environmental awakening – people’s job choices are also being affected. Research conducted in 2019 found that 73% of workers wanted their employer to improve its sustainability record. It was even recorded that 24% of those surveyed would turn down a job opportunity at a company with a poor sustainability record.

For businesses that seek to attract a young workforce, the younger generation tends to be especially alarmed by the climate crisis. For instance, Gallup research found that 70% of Americans aged 18 to 34 are concerned about global warming – compared with 56% aged 55 and older.

It is vital that companies do not just claim to be green – they need to show how they are sustainable and what measures they have in place to improve further. Engaging around COP26 indicates that the business recognises the impact of climate change and wishes to be part of the solution.

Boost In Green Investments

Green assets are already incredibly desirable for investors as they are expected to deliver some lucrative long term returns. For example, renewable energy companies have been experiencing massive interest in solar energy stocks. Nonetheless, COP26 is expected to boost the green finance market further – especially as one of the summit’s primary goals is to support private finance to establish a whole-economy transition to net zero.

The investments will progressively flow in the direction of companies and countries which are considered green – placing extractive and polluting business models at heightened risk. This will coincide with a closer focus on “greenwashing”, which will drive standardisation, provide clarity around what is classed as a “green project” or “green finance”.

In addition, greater caution will reduce opportunities for regulatory arbitrage, blocking companies from transferring assets to countries that do not make the environment a priority. For example, the European Union is considering a carbon border tax to reduce unintended consequences of its emissions trading system.

The Bloomberg New Energy Foundation estimates that between $78tn and $130tn of new investment will be required by 2050, in areas such as power generation and hydrogen production, to facilitate the environmental targets set by governments around the world. Therefore, businesses should look out for green financing arrangements (both positive and negative) that are expected to come out of COP26. They should also keep a close watch for any specific to their areas that may affect their business – such as clean air policies or environmental habitat protection.

The Takeaway

With the daily pressures of being in business, especially with the added challenges caused by the pandemic, many companies may not take much notice of COP26. However, this is one of the main reasons why those who take the time to follow this year’s climate change conference will be at a competitive advantage – they will be more aware of the emerging environmental trends, which mean so much to consumers and staff.

Climate change is now realised to be one of the most significant business risks and leading commercial opportunities of all time. The businesses which are wanting to manage this risk and take advantage of this opportunity to protect and create value from sustainability for their company should pay close attention to COP26.

A domain name is a human readable string that defines an area controlled by the owner of the domain name. When a person types your domain name into their web browser, they are directed to that piece of internet real estate that you control. For instance, google.com takes you to a Google controlled website. Domain names make it easier to navigate through the internet and, because they stand in place of IP addresses, they save us from having to memorize a long string of numbers to get to a website. Because a domain name takes a person to that piece of internet real estate that you control, it reflects on a business and its brand. The very best tech businesses realize this and make sure that they have premium domain names.

The Cost of Domain Names

A website needs two things to exist: a domain name and a web host. It is impossible to have a tech business, or any online business, without having a domain name. It is fundamental to having a website. The question is, how much does a domain name cost?

On average, a domain name will set you back somewhere in the region of $2 and $20 a year, depending on any specials or discounts you get. The latest domain extensions, such as .app, are on the upper end of that scale, or sometimes even above it, because they have just entered the market.

There is no set price for domain names, but unused domain names are very inexpensive. Domain names, like any asset, can be bought and sold, and there is a market for them, on platforms such as Afternic and GoDaddy Auctions, so you should look there to get an idea of prevailing market rates.

If you want an already used domain name, then you should buy it through a broker service such as Go Daddy’s Domain Broker Service.

Premium Domain Are Very Valuable

Premium domain names are, like great brands, short, easily memorable and deeply tied to a specific business, industry or product. The cost of premium domains ranges from thousands of dollars to tens of millions of dollars. For instance, when Gannett Co., Inc sold domain name cars.com, that particular domain name fetched a price of $872 million. According to GoDaddy, the most valuable domain name right now is carinsurance.com, which it values at $49.7 million.

Premium domain names cost so much because they reflect the values, standards and ideals of a brand. They help to build trust in a brand. Supposedly, when a person goes onto cars.com, they feel a great deal of confidence that they will be able to find quality information and the vehicle of their dreams. People who visit cars.com see the website as an authority in its area, trust it, and value what it gives to them. All that drives the value of the domain name. It means that whoever owns cars.com has to spend less on marketing than if they set up a rival website and tried to do exactly what cars.com does.

Defining the price of a domain name is not an exact science. Even the best appraisers make, at best, very good estimates of value. Technology & ecommerce businesses need premium domain names because their businesses are mediated by software. They cannot exist outside of the internet. And because of the massive market opportunities within the tech & ecommerce space, the competition for eyeballs is insane. Your business needs a premium domain name in order to stand out from the crowd and be more easily discoverable by customers.

For any new startup, getting your initial marketing right is crucial – you need to get the word out about your new product or service to get your business off the ground and on the path to success. With 3.6 billion people using Social Media in 2020, this is one marketing channel that practically all startups need to master.

Aside from being able to access a massive audience, as highlighted above, there are many other benefits of Social Media to companies just starting out. One of these key benefits is speed – you can be set up on the main platforms and raising the profile of your brand as soon as your website is ready to receive traffic, perhaps even sooner if you want to create a ‘pre-launch buzz’. Building some momentum, fast, will be important in the early days. 

Another key benefit is the feedback Social Media can provide as your company starts to grow. What your potential customers think of your product or service, how you could make it better, and what features or products you should consider next, is all crucial info that can be gleaned from your Social Media audience and used to keep your growing business on the right track

The Value of Social Media for New Businesses

Few businesses are likely to argue that Social Media isn’t an important marketing channel, but just to hammer the point home and reinforce the idea that it’s a critical channel for new startups:

• 55% of consumers learn about new brands on Social Media (if your target audience is Gen z then this figure is actually 78%!)
• As a result of the pandemic, 43% of consumers used Social Media more to discover new products
• When it comes to interacting with brands, 68% of consumers agree that Social Media makes this easier

(Source – SproutSocial)

How Do I Use Social Media to Grow My Business?

So it’s clear that Social Media is important for startup businesses – but it might not be clear how to develop an effective marketing strategy for using it to help your business grow. While Social Media has enormous potential, like anything if you just dive in you might find you’re not realising that potential – or worse, you could actually do more harm than good.

Your potential audience may be vast, but they are also pretty fickle, so you need to make sure you spend the time planning and developing your Social Media marketing strategy if you want it to be as effective as possible. This is often why some businesses entrust the success of marketing on Social Media to specialist agencies like oneofonegroup.co.uk, but for those intent on going it alone, there are key steps to follow.

Identify your target audience

You may have already done this as part of your overall business and marketing planning, but understanding who is your target audience will be key to using the right Social Media channels, and in the most effective way. Your target audience might be quite broad and require breaking down into different groups and demographics so you can make sure each is targetted with the most effective Social Media marketing strategy.

Find out what platforms your audience uses

Once you understand your target audience groups, this will help you select the most appropriate Social Media platforms to market your brand on, and also direct your marketing strategy on these platforms. If you’re audience is aged 25-35 you might need to focus on Facebook and Instagram; if you’re targetting older individuals you might prioritise Twitter; and for a Gen Z audience, you probably need to consider Tik Tok.

Learn more about your audience

As well as learning where your audience is, you need to understand how they like to communicated with – as in what type of marketing material (formats, content, timing) they are more likely to engage with. Simply ‘being’ on the right platform isn’t enough, you need to make sure you stand out and are appealing to your audience. 

Set Social Media goals for your business

Once you’ve completed the work of understanding your target audience and how best to communicate with them, you need to have a goal of what you want to achieve from your Social Media marketing. So many businesses pour money, time, effort into marketing on the various platforms without a real understanding of what they’re trying to achieve other than ‘raise awareness’.

Having clearly defined goals of what you expect your Social Media marketing to deliver will not only help to shape your strategy, it will also allow you to see how well you are achieving against is, as well as the return on investment you are getting from it – something that’s crucial to understand for a business just starting out.

Set out your aims for your Social Media channels

For each of the channels you are using, define what you expect to achieve in terms of engagement that will raise awareness of your brand – so metrics such as likes, shares and comments. Understand what you want to achieve for more commercially-focused metrics measuring conversions – so clicks to your website, sign-ups, enquiries and even sales.

Create your Social Media strategy

Knowing what you expect to get out of each of the platforms you are using for your marketing will help you to build the strategy to achieve those goals. When you’re starting out there may be an element of trial and error, but as your marketing develops the feedback and data you get from Social Media will allow you to focus in on the activity that is most likely to help you achieve the goals you’ve set.   

Getting the Most From Your Social Media Marketing

Getting your Social Media marketing right can always be a challenge, especially for a new company just starting out. But progress can be better than perfection in the early days, so rather than waiting until you think you have the perfect strategy, start investing in your Social Media presence as soon as you can. Monitor your performance and adapt your strategy as you grow, and you’ll soon discover how powerful Social Media can be for your startup.