SiliconIndia | Tuesday, October 2, 2012
You are no stranger to banks. Everyday you make several transactions and invest in FDs and PPF. It provides a number of financial solution and services. Even your bank may provide your such solution, but still there are factors which prompts you to switch or leave your bank. The 2012 Retail Banking Voice of the Customer Survey, Capgemini, has presented 7 such factors that can prompt you to leave a bank, as reported by Yahoo.com.
Fees
Your bank may not inform you always whenever it increases its transaction charges or processing fee. But you need to keep a watch on it. As the banker sitting in his office is concerned more about his profit and not about your losses. The best way to avoid paying hefty fees, is choosing a bank which is more favourable and chargers lesser fee. Globally 50 percent of people surveyed by Capgemini stated that the various kinds of fees is a major reason for them to leave their bank.
Quality of service
Your bank can provide you a number of services but may not specialize in any. Sometimes more than the quantity of number of services, it’s the quality of services which matters. Your bank could be one which makes you stand for hours in a queue and then wait for your turn. This is a very common problem faced with retail banks. If you don’t want delay in your bank transactions, then choose a bank which provides better quality of services. More then 53 percent of the people surveyed said that the quality of service provided by their bank provokes them to switch their bank.
Quality of advice
Bankers can do a lot more than just taking your money deposits and sanctioning you loans. He should also advice you on various investment schemes and insurance plans. And if your banker is already providing you advices on financial planning, but you find his quality of advice poor and non profitable, may be then it’s time for you to approach a smarter banker from a different bank. 44 percent of the people said that the quality of advice is a major factor considered by them while choosing a bank.
Interest rates
Your bank interest rates could a reason to prompt you to shift your banking base. You must always avoid banks which charges high rate of interest on loans and offers low interest rates on deposits. As per the survey report, more than 49 percent of customers leave the bank if unsatisfied with their interest rates. Hence, if you are also unhappy with your bank’s interest rate, then may be its time to change your bank. The survey report states that 49 percent of bank customers cites interest rate as a reason to shift from their banks.
Accessibility and Convenience
Never opt for a bank whose number of branches are few or situated in remote locations, as their inaccessibility can cause a problem in retail banking. The worst would be, if the bank also doesn’t provide you online and mobile banking facilities. Especially if you live in metro, avoid such banks because travelling to their location would be a time consuming and costly affair. These two are most important factors considered by 42 percent of people globally, which provokes them to leave their bank.
ATM locations
ATM is a much better solution for the long standing hour in retail bank for withdrawing cash. But all banks does not have ATM locations or have ATMs which goes out of order for most of the times, if you are a customer of one such bank, then you may at times face some troubles. For instance you would be allowed only five free withdrawals from ATMs of other banks, and after that for any number of additional withdrawals from ATM, other banks would charge you. 40 percent of the surveyed people said that ATM location is a difficult situation for them at times, which also becomes a reason for them to leave their bank.
Ease of use
After being tierd of work on the weekdays, you don't want to waste your weekend breaking your head on a bank process or transaction. Your bank also need to provide you easy processes of handling money so that you have a lot of time for other things. Does your bank keeps you hassled with it complicated banking system? Where else, if you will not be able to understand how you bank functions, how will you deal with it? It is always recommended to leave your primary bank, if you find its services inconvenient and difficult to understand.
HBR :Oct 4,2012
Today's Management Tip was adapted from "Are You Solving the Right Problem?" by Dwayne Spradlin.
It may be obvious that you can't solve a problem that's not well defined, but many people neglect this detail.
Next time you think you're ready to go into problem-solving mode, consider the following:
- Establish the basic need for a solution. Why does the problem need solving?
- Justify the need. Make sure it's worth your time. Is the effort aligned with your company's strategy? What do you, your team, or the company stand to gain from a solution?
- Give it context. What approaches have you already tried? What have others done? Are there constraints on the solution?
- Write the problem statement. Take your answers to the questions above and lay out the problem. Indicate the scope, the requirements of a solution, and who will be involved.
SiliconIndia | Wednesday, 03 October 2012, 16:39 IST
Certain obstacles are inevitable in an entrepreneurial journey. Every entrepreneur who has a great idea, at some point of time would find it difficult to move forward with his venture due to few reasons. Obtaining funding for a startup is often considered to be a challenging task because these men do not realize the various methods in procuring funding for their business. Here is a list, which explains the different ways on how an entrepreneur can raise capital for his business, as compiled by brainz.org.
Personal funds or savings
This method of inducing capital into a business from one’s own savings is the most preferred type by most entrepreneurs. The more an entrepreneur saves, the more helpful it is for the business. There are certain advantages in this form of funding as an entrepreneur is not accountable to anybody else other than himself. He can carefully utilize the money without being afraid of answering venture capitalists or investors.
Savings from partners
If there is another person who has a similar entrepreneurial vision and would like to be a partner, then, there is nothing like it. If the same partner comes into business with funds, it would definitely help the business to grow and expand. A good partnership has always benefited a business and this has been proven many times in the history.
Selling unused products
To keep a business active, it is mandatory to have constant flow of funds. This can be easily achievable if certain unused products in the business are sold. Rather than staking up an office with stuff, it is much advisable for entrepreneurs to sell them and to utilize the money in the business.
Windfalls
This works with mere luck. An entrepreneur must have good experience in investing and legal gambling to get whopping amounts into business. Investing on tax refunds, gifts and lotteries would help the business if there are huge returns out of these investments. Sometimes, if things are not carefully planned it can change the course of one’s entrepreneurial vision.
Barter Approach
This is quite a meaningful approach and does great benefit to a business. An entrepreneur can trade few things from his business to procure something from another business. This can eventually help in even obtaining shares of other companies which can be traded to get money, which can be invested one’s own business.
Retirement plans
A smart entrepreneur can make use of his retirement saving plans, especially if there are any special benefits or incentives from the government. By enrolling into such programs and also by taking the home ownership program can let an entrepreneur to utilize the original rental funds towards his business.
Blood Money
Blood Money is a popular method of fund raising. In this form of fundraising an entrepreneur can borrow funds from his family members, friends, colleagues or even employees. There is also an alternative for this method, where a person stands as a guarantee for obtaining a bank loan.
Bank loan
This in fact the safest method to obtain funds. If an entrepreneur has a strong business plan and if the money lending institution is happy and agrees to give loan, he should make the maximum use of the opportunity as bank loans are considered to be the cheapest form of raising loans in terms of interest rates.
Credit Cards
Credit cards are the easiest form of payments as it just needs a swipe. An entrepreneur can make the best use of credit cards during emergency situations and this is possible only if he has a good credit rating. It must be also noted that the interest rates on credit cards are much higher than bank loans and blood money.
Equities
If an entrepreneur has many investments in various other companies, he can sell a few of them to rotate and invest money in his own business. In certain other circumstances, he can also mortgage his house with a lower monthly payment, thus saving some money for the business.
Grants
Grants are normally government programs which are provided to specific startups and are not required to pay back. These kinds of funds must be utilized to the maximum as they can benefit the business without having to be returned.
Microloans
Microloans are generally small amount of funds that would not make a great difference for the company but if these funds are combined with bootstrapping or blood money, it would become a big amount which can help a business to pass through its initial stages easily. Microloans can also be easily obtained unlike bank loans or other forms of investment.
Incubators
These days incubators on a spree to pick up good startups. These incubating firms strategize the complete business plan of a budding company and they also provide necessary funds for a startup to perform its initial functions. Amounts procured from these incubators are called as ‘seed funds’ which can be repaid as per the agreed terms or in the form of company shares.
Investor Capital
Finding an angel investor to fund a business is now being a liberal task. Investors generally put their money in companies which would fetch them more returns. Startups generally prefer procuring funds from angel investors than venture capitalists as these investors can be added as silent partners to the company for the amount they brought in to the business.
Leasing
If certain things are carefully looked upon leasing is another form of way through which an individual can raise and save funds for his business. An entrepreneur does not have to invest in bulk for all the machinery and equipments of his business as he can get the same things on lease which would help the individual save some bucks to run his business.
Factoring
Factoring is another popular method through which companies raise capital. If an entrepreneur needs money on a great priority he can factor the business invoices to certain factoring companies who would buy the same but would pay in discount. This is in fact the best way for an entrepreneur to ensure that there is constant cash flow.
INGRID LUNDEN :TechCrunch:3rd Oct 2012
As beleaguered handset maker Nokia continues to downsize its operations to conserve cash, the handset maker is looking to sell its global headquarters in Espoo, Finland for a price of up to $387 million (€300 million). The news was first reported by the Finnish-language Helsingen Sanomat, with the real-estate price estimate coming from Ilta-Sanomat. A Nokia spokesperson has confirmed to TechCrunch that it is evaluating this option, but that it may end up leasing back the same building, and in any case has no plans to leave Finland in the process.
“As we said during Q2 results, Nokia is re-evaluating all non-core operations, including its real estate. However, we do not have any plans to move our headquarters,” a spokesperson said in an email (emphasis Nokia’s). “As with most companies whose core business is not in owning real estate, it makes common business sense not to tie assets in real estate property but rather invest and focus in its core operations.
“Divesting real estate is an entirely different thing compared to the location of the headquarters. As we have said many times before, we have no plans to move our headquarters.”
He points out that selling and re-leasing property is “not unusual” in Finland, with Kone doing the same in Keilaniemi in 2007. Similarly, UPM sold their headquarters in 2006 and Stora Enso did the same in 2008.
“It’s just a case of looking at our options when it comes to real estate and beyond,” he told TechCrunch.
Nokia is planning to cut some $2 billion in costs by the end of 2013. That has included some 10,000 jobs, several factories, and other assets such as its Qt development platform operations as well as patents. And although Nokia is a flagship Finnish business, there have been other signs that it is downsizing its presence in that country. Among the factories that have been closed down globally is the last one remaining in Finland.
Nokia’s move to turn itself around has been built around the company’s new smartphone devices build on Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system, as well as deals for its smaller business in maps. Last quarter’s earnings showed that so far this strategy is slow in developing. It said it had sold 4 million Lumia Windows Phone devices, with feature phones still its biggest growth segment.
