Do you have questions about our business? Find the answers to frequently asked questions here!
A merger is the combination of two companies, usually into a new company. This process is often called an amalgamation. The previous companies become dissolved. Mergers are often perceived as ‘friendly’ and, in theory, a merger can result in the two companies becoming equal partners in the new company.
An acquisition is one company purchasing another, usually smaller, company, or a controlling interest in its shares. If the target is a listed company, an approach by a potential acquirer is sometimes unwelcome, and the transaction is called a “hostile takeover.” However, with private limited companies, it is nearly impossible for one company to acquire another unless all parties are willing.
The acquired company becomes a subsidiary of the acquiring company; unlike a merger, a new company is not created. Acquisitions are far more common than mergers, where private companies are concerned.
There are multiple reasons why one company acquires another, and they are primarily associated with a growth strategy. Buyers typically want to expand their capabilities, territories, product lines, and revenue. Investors are interested in growing their portfolios and the money they can generate.
It is essential for a business owner to understand these concepts early so they can tailor their company either to be a valuable acquisition candidate or to develop a strong acquisition growth strategy.
Legally, yes. However, that is probably not in your best interest. While you are most certainly an expert at running your company, the mergers and acquisitions process is complex. Selling a company is time-consuming and can be emotional, especially if the business is your life’s work.
If you usually use terms such as earn-out, working capital gate, hurdle rate, and mezzanine, we recommend that you call to discuss your situation with an expert intermediary. You do not want to make a mistake and leave a large portion of your hard-earned nest egg on the table at closing.
Yes. Whether your company is relatively new or has been around for decades, the potential for future revenue will likely determine the value of your company to buyers. Most acquirers are hesitant to purchase businesses that they perceive as high-risk and are reluctant to overpay without clear evidence of success.
Market or product exclusivity, reliable and repeatable processes, intellectual property, and long-term contracts help ensure the likelihood and reliability of the revenue potential of your company.
Reputation Management refers to the strategies and tactics used to maintain a positive online reputation. Consumers look for reviews to help decide whom to do business with, so having online customer reviews helps build consumer trust as well as positively impact your Pay-Per-Click ad results.
At SL Companies, Inc., our reputation management team develops tools to encourage real-customer reviews and respond appropriately to less-than-positive reviews. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter can also impact your company’s reputation, so we monitor or entirely manage clients’ social media accounts.
The answer to that question is “all the time.”
At SL Companies, Inc., we view marketing as an investment rather than an expense. One indicator of this is that we are often more busy in a depressed economy: in that state, many businesses seek to market themselves to find new customers.
The good news is that these businesses seek out help, looking for someone to guide them in their efforts so that they achieve success.
Effective small business marketing is not an activity to only practice when things get quiet. Instead, it is a process that should be omnipresent in your business, making your business more visible to those looking for the products and services that you offer.
Benefits of ongoing marketing include:
- Building awareness and brand uniqueness for your business by being visible to your prospects and clients;
- Establish a solid reputation for your business by marketing your expertise through articles and blogging;
- Distinguish your business from the competition by staying visible and promoting your expertise;
- Evaluate your marketing efforts by the results you see in your business. If a strategy is effective, keep doing it; if it doesn’t work well, try something different.
Marketing takes time to take effect, and when you pause or stop practicing this aspect of a business, it is difficult to restart it. The key is to establish a marketing effort and let it run, evaluating the outcome and tweaking the campaign when needed.
Build marketing into your business strategy so that it becomes second nature and ensures your business stays visible to your clients. If you need assistance, find a reputable marketing agency to help. An investment in marketing your business can be small, but the payoff can be substantial.
To determine the optimal sample size for a consumer survey, one must strike a balance between cost in comparison to the level of sampling error that they will tolerate. A larger sample provides greater reliability, but at a higher cost. A smaller sample will be less costly but will yield a higher margin of sampling error.
As an example, for a 95% level of confidence and a sample size of 100, the answers to the questions in your survey will be within 9.8% of the actual, unknown, “real” answer. This 9.8% probability is called the sampling error and would be accurate 95% of the time if you repeated the survey an infinite number of times.
This term combines two subjects: Big Data and the kind of analytics users want to do with it.
Let’s start with Big Data, then come back to analytics. Users interviewed by SL Companies state that data isn’t “Big” until it exceeds 10 terabytes (TBs). That is the low end of Big Data, but some user organizations have cached away hundreds of terabytes, just for analytics.
The size of Big Data is relative; possessing hundreds of TBs of data is not new, but hundreds just for analytics is—at least, for most user organizations.
The kind of analytics applied to big data is often called Advanced Analytics. A more suitable term may be “discovery analytics” because this data is used to learn information about customers.
The user is typically a Business Analyst who is seeking to discover new, previously unknown business facts. To do that, they need large volumes of highly detailed data.
For example, amid the Great Recession, companies were constantly struggling with customer turnover, often called churn. To discover the root cause of the newest form of churn, a Business Analyst obtains several terabytes of detailed data drawn from operational applications to get a view of customer behavior.
They may then compare this information with historical data. Dozens of queries later, they have discovered a new churn behavior in a subset of the customer base. With any luck, they will turn that information into an analytic model, with which the company can track and predict the new form of churn.
Automating processes and operations has become one of the most valued benefits of technology for business. Computers connected with high-speed internet have allowed the workforce to collaborate and discuss business matters more efficiently than ever. In this way, they can better handle various tasks from nearly any location.
Technology has revolutionized the way companies and organizations work to chase their business objectives and goals. It has become possible to accomplish assigned tasks and duties rapidly by using different devices, machines, and pieces of equipment to increase productivity and efficiency at the workplace.
