Images_Digital_Edition_April_2019

www.images-magazine.com APRIL 2019 images 33 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT going projects. It also integrates with Slack, Dropbox and many other tools. ■ ProWorkflow Available both on the web and through an app, ProWorkflow offers flexibility and versatility in its software, which makes it popular across many industries. Task management tools, timesheets and alerts are available alongside sharing and communicating tools for colleagues. It allows users to assign tasks and keep track of resources as well as managing deadlines and providing performance reports. There are lots of pieces of software out there, the majority of which offer free trials and live demonstrations that outline how they can be used alongside your business. Before you make any decisions, do your research, take your time and trial them to see which collaboration programme works best for your business. Andrew Langridge is from ETrader, one of the industry’s leading suppliers of websites to garment decorators across the UK. www.etraderwebsites.co.uk F or me, the first question is to decide which show will provide the greatest number of exhibitors that are relevant to my business, as the key advantage of a visit is to see as many suppliers as possible within a short time frame. For any business owner, time away from the office has to be planned and needs to be efficient. Rather than visiting supplier partners at their individual locations, arranging appointments at a trade fair is a really constructive way of getting questions answered and understanding trends. There is great value in taking some time to think about the decorated products you currently make and then consider if there are any new, complementary products that you can sell to your existing customer base. For example, if you sell promotional clothing, you may find it easy to offer products like power banks, pens or notebooks. Once decided, you can review the exhibitor list and identify who is worth meeting at the show. It’s easy as the business owner to think about new products, but don‘t forget to hold a broader discussion with your team as well to see if they have ideas for improving productivity or where production bottlenecks exist. Once you‘ve identified whom you want to see, create a sub list of those you absolutely must visit. At international events such as the Fespa Global Print Expo there are hundreds of exhibitors and it‘s very easy for time to slip by. Consider also who you want to bring with you. It can be motivational for key staff to attend a show as it allows them exposure to the wider industry and can provide fertile ground for new ideas. Finally, remember that it‘s easy to clock up 20,000 steps in one day at a show – it can be very tiring. While I appreciate the temptations that keep us out late into the evening, it is worth bearing in mind that you’ll do the same again the next day! The Fespa Global Print Expo 2019 takes place on 14-17 May in Munich, Germany. C ollaboration tools are used by marketing departments to manage both the business‘s workload and its time. These tools allow you to share projects, ideas and news and to communicate with other members of your team, all within one common space. ■ Trello This allows users to organise work as well as generate ideas. Simple to use, visually pleasing and ideal for growing ideas, Trello is a project management tool that is easy to manage and maintain. ■ Slack One of the most recognised communication programmes, Slack makes communicating to your team simple via multiple ‘channels‘. Channels can be set up with different viewing permissions so users only see what is relevant to their project or role, and direct messaging is also enabled. Slack integrates with Dropbox, Salesforce and many more pieces of software and allows users to share files, ideas and conversations all in one place. ■ Join.me This allows users to set up meetings remotely wherever they are working and on any device. It also allows users to collaborate and share ideas via a whiteboard feature that can be used communally. ■ Asana An all-in-one project management tool, Asana is great for streamlining your business. The software allows users to track, organise and manage work in one place. Focusing on productivity, Asana can also set up to do lists, targets and summaries as well as set reminders for any on- Collaboration tools formarketers FESPA: HOW COULD VISITING A TRADE SHOW HELP MY BUSINESS? Graeme Richardson-Locke is technical support manager at Fespa, a global federation of national associations for the screen printing, digital printing and textile printing community. If you have a question for Fespa, please email editorial@images- magazine.com with Fespa in the subject line. www.fespa.com