Hard work doesn’t always guarantee success.

With that bombshell, you may be wondering “If hard work isn’t enough, what should I do to help my business succeed?!”

The answer’s simple: VRIO.

VRIO isn’t the latest must-have app or some new fad – it’s an incredibly useful business framework and analysis tool for understanding whether your business has the capabilities and resources to thrive in the long-term.

Considering that following a VRIO framework could bolster your growth, increase revenue, ensure you’re always one-step-ahead of the competition, and keep your business better organized, VRIO isn’t a process to be dismissed.

But if it’s the first time hearing about VRIO, have no fear.

I’ve got you covered.

In this post, I’ll go into the definition of VRIO, tell you how it was conceived, explain the four dimensions that make up the VRIO framework, and tell you the best times to undergo VRIO so your business can reap its rewards. Simply read the following sections to get to grips with it:

• What is VRIO?
• Where did the VRIO framework come from?
• When’s the best time to undergo VRIO analysis?
• The VRIO framework: Value, rarity, imitability, and organization
• Use Process Street for continuous business success!

Let’s get started, shall we?

Do you have a brand that you go back to, time and time again?

If you do, what is it about this brand that’s captured your loyalty?

I do not doubt that an exceptional customer experience plays its part. That is, think about how that brand makes you feel. Good huh?

According to Bain & Company, businesses that invest time and effort to optimize their customer experience (CX) flows, experience above-market revenue growth between 4-8%. With the vast choice of products, services and brands available, exceptional customer experience comes as the ultimate seduction and differentiation for businesses to stand out above competitors.

In this Process Street article, you’ll learn how to engage your customers at every point in their journey with you. You’ll learn how to consistently create a service with a smile, a product to praise, and a beloved brand.

Learn from the best as we take a glimpse into the CX operations used by the likes of Netflix, Microsoft, and of course Process Street. You’ll then be given 5 tips on how you can optimize your CX flows, taking into account the changing business landscape, and the impacts of digitalization on customer behavior and experience.

Click on the relevant subheader to jump to your section of choice. Alternatively, scroll down to read all for an in-depth understanding of CX.

• What is CX?
• Case studies: How top tech companies deliver excellent CX
• How to optimize your customer experience flows
• Using checklists to optimize your CX flows in 5 steps
• Understanding customer experience flows in a digital world

Let’s jump to it!
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This is a guest post by Ray Slater Berry, a freelance writer for Chameleon with over nine years of content marketing and social media experience. He specializes in product tech, travel, SaaS and working one time as a CMO at Study Clerk. Ray is also a published fiction writer, with his first novel titled Golden Boy.

“Every dollar invested in ease of use returns $10 to $100.” – IBM, The ROI of UX

The above statement was made by the global business powerhouse, IBM. The company explains that it’s far more economical to consider user needs early in the design process than to try and solve them later. Based on the returns given in the above quote, we can calculate an ROI of 9,900%.

And considering the user needs early is exactly what a user experience (UX) map does, meaning creating an effective UX map has the potential to bridge the gap between business success and failure.

By understanding your user’s needs in the early stages of a design process, you’re more likely to consistently meet those needs, meaning a happy customer and reduced churn.

This is why we at Process Street have produced this article, your practical guide to user experience mapping.

Welcome and gather around the user experience campfire. Grab a marshmallow on a stick, a cup of something hot, and relax. Today you’ll learn the ins of outs of user experience maps and how you can create one in the leanest way possible.

Click on the relevant subheader below to jump to your section of choice. Alternatively, scroll down to read all we have to say regarding user experience mapping.

• What are user experience maps?
• The benefits of UX mapping
• How do you create a UX map?
• Examples of user experience maps

Once upon a time, in a land not so far from here…
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When you’re doing any kind of content marketing, you want to be able to understand how well you’re doing. You want to be able to look at the performance of the content you’re creating and feel assurance that you’re:

1. Driving forward key goals and objectives tied to your content strategy;
2. Continuously optimizing and improving the quality of your content in order to hit those goals.

Especially when you’re creating this kind of content that involves a degree of creative input (writing!) it can be difficult to measure quality.

This is where maturity models come in. Maturity models can be a great way to build and assess how successful an organization or system is at achieving continuous improvement.

Ultimately, it’s the idea that you’re constantly seeking to test and improve the way in which your organization runs. You’re not standing still.

We’ve written before about more generally applicable Capability Maturity Models, but this post takes a look at our internal Blog Asset Maturity Model (BAMM) process that we use to audit and continuously improve the quality of our blog content.

In this Process Street article, we’ll cover:

• How to assess content quality
• Content marketing metrics to measure success
• What exactly is a maturity model?
• Our internal process for quality control: The BAMM review
• Using processes to systematize content creation – more reliable and higher quality

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According to a report given by Queens University, 75% of employers rate teamwork and collaboration to be very important.

Despite this, reports by Globe and Mail and the Harvard Business Review indicate that 20-44% of employees experience workplace communication and collaboration challenges. And if you’re operating remotely, well, these challenges just became harder to overcome. There is a gap between want and reality.

In this Process Street article, we consider how using office hours can close this gap by supporting the effective implementation of an open door policy for your remote team.

Office hours are times in the week managers set aside to answer questions, address issues, and discuss topics with employees. This effectively implements an open door policy, to establish aspirational communication and collaboration goals. An open door policy is a culture that supports complete workplace transparency, communication, and productivity by establishing strong communication channels between employees and their managers.

Today you’ll find out exactly how office hours and an open door policy complement each other – plus top tips on managing your remote open door policy.

Click on the relevant subheader below, or scroll down to find out all.

• What do we mean by office hours?
• The top challenges with a remote open door policy
• Remote open door policy challenges (and how to solve them)
• The benefits of office hours and supporting an open door policy

Let’s get straight to it!
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Agent *reader*, I call upon you today as we’re at a time of crisis. Humans have annihilated 83% of all wild animals and are disrupting a natural climate balance, throwing us into a projected future that is 4.1 – 4.8°C (39.38 – 40.64 °F) warmer.

It’s our duty, as citizens, business owners, and employees to change the narrative for our children’s lives; to kickstart a transition into a more sustainable future, one that enriches biodiversity and a balanced climate. And for this, we turn our attention to sustainable cities.

According to the World Health Organization, the global world population living in urban areas is expected to increase to 66% by 2050, making cities a perfect place to transform society and support biodiversity and a balanced climate.

In this Process Street article, we’ll become time-travelers, zipping into the future to assess two separate predicted scenarios.

• Scenario 1: The continuation of human activity as normal.
• Scenario 2: Transforming into a more sustainable future, starting with our cities.

Today, we meet at a crossroad, where our future could go two ways. We’ll explore these two separate scenarios, before addressing the role of sustainable cities in creating a more desirable world. We’ll look at how businesses must adapt to survive in a future that is carbon-neutral with rich biodiversity.

After all, who wouldn’t want such a future?

• What are sustainable cities?
• Our future cities are sustainable
• Sustainable cities: Key takeaways for corporate sustainability

Seat belts on, time-machine ignited, to the future here we come!
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A recent study from Ponemon and Globalscope reported the average cost of meeting compliance mandates is $5.47 million, versus non-compliance fines of $14.82 million.

No organization wants to cough up massive non-compliance charges. And one effective means of avoiding such scenarios is by using a robust, effective, and integrated governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) approach.

Due to today’s complexity of governance, risk, and compliance demands, it would be considered reckless to go about using an integrated GRC approach without utilizing viable GRC tools.

GRC tools help organizations strategize the management of governance, risk, and compliance regulations in an integrated fashion.

In this Process Street article, you’re taken through a quick tour of our top GRC tools to meet the specificity of governance, risk, and compliance demands.

I’ll then show you how to use Process Street, for free, to integrate these three separate entities for an integrated GRC approach.

Click on the relevant subheader to jump to your section of choice. Alternatively, scroll down for your quick introduction to all things GRC, how the discipline has developed, and top tools and techniques you can use to implement GRC in your business.

• What is GRC?
• GRC as a revolutionary approach and why it’s important
• Our top 14 GRC tools
• Using Process Street to integrate your governance, risk, and compliance solutions

Let’s jump straight to it!
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“Startups that regularly conduct qualitative research (not just quantitative) experience faster results in their quest to achieve product-market-fit.” – Mitchell Posada, I’m a startup, do I need to do Qualitative Research?

Why?

Because by regularly doing qualitative research, you are engaging with (and acting on) the voice of your ideal customer. To the point where the customer actually becomes a part of everything you do.

Whether you’re a founder about to launch a product or someone who is simply keen to understand and put into practice qualitative research methods – you’re in the right place.

Just keep on scrolling and I assure you that on finishing this Process Street blog you will be well versed in all that is qualitative research.

Alternatively, to skip to a specific section of the post click the links below:

• What is qualitative research?
• A closer look at qualitative research
• Types of qualitative research
• Qualitative research in practice: The chocolate method
• Is qualitative research for you?

Keep reading to find out exactly what chocolate has to do with qualitative research!
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It was 1980 and the U.S. had crowned Donald Trump as a hero of business, turning real estate into gold. Trump had a net worth of $1.5 billion. However, a lack of corporate strategy was about to shake-up the Trump empire.

In 1988, Trump paid £365 million for the Eastern Air Shuttle. During the airline’s reign, its identity was passed from a no-fuss service to a one with maple-wood veneers and gold-plated features. A poorly strategized gamble that confused the brand’s identity. The lack of strategic direction meant Trump no longer held the Trump card, and his net worth plummeted along with the airline.

Worryingly, Trump’s failure to meet his organization’s objectives is a common occurrence in business, with only 2% of leaders stating they feel they will achieve 80-100% of their pre-set strategic objectives.

This is where Process Street comes to your aid.

This post will teach you what corporate strategy is, why it is important, and how you can implement an effective strategy for your business today – with access to our top free template resources. Check out our Strategic Planning Template below for a quick taster.

Click on the relevant subheader below to be directed to that section of this post. Alternatively, scroll down to read all about corporate strategy.

• What is corporate strategy?
• The benefits of corporate strategy
• Corporate strategy process
• Using Process Street to implement the corporate strategy process

Let’s get started!
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This is a guest post by Hannah Butler, who works as a web developer, designer, and writer.

According to a study by Digiday, Vanity Fair’s newsletter readers consume 2x more content than any other audience segment.

Another study by Parse.ly found that Greentech Media’s newsletter visitors spend 80% more time on site than visitors from other channels.

These studies reflect the effectiveness of business newsletters for engaging your audience, retaining readers, and converting prospects.

However, we at Process Street know that writing a business newsletter can be challenging.

That is why we have put together this article detailing how to write a business newsletter. You will learn the underlying principles behind newsletter writing, along with top tips and tricks for how to create compelling content consistently. And if that isn’t enough, we give you 30 top – free – template resources to speed up the process, helping you save time on tedious, repetitive tasks.

Check out our Creating a Newsletter checklist given below for a quick taster regarding what our templates have to offer.

Click here to access our Creating a Newsletter checklist!

Click on the relevant subheader to jump to the section of choice. Alternatively, scroll down to read all we have to say.

• Why bother writing a business newsletter?
• How to write a newsletter
• Business newsletter templates to streamline your newsletter campaigns
• Sending your business newsletter using an email marketing campaign process

With that said, let’s get started. Continue Reading