If you’re like most people, you will be using the start of the year to reflect on what you would like to do differently throughout 2017 – both within your personal life and at work. For Business Owners this is the half way mark for the financial year and it is imperative to review how your business is tracking….. before it’s too late.
In my blog from April last year “Business Owners – Look Up and Live” – Business owners who only have their heads down within the business and keep doing things the same, may continue to survive for some time, but are unlikely to thrive….. and are at risk of extinction in the long term.
You can never rest on your laurels assuming that your existing clients will always be loyal to your business….. you need to ensure that they have a very good reason to remain loyal.
You do this by:
- Ensuring that you understand your customers – where they come from, why they buy from you, what they’re actually buying, what they like & need etc
- Knowing and understanding your competitors – where are they, who buys from them, what do they do differently to you, what are their product lines/ services etc
- Understanding how you differ from your competitors – what do you do differently, what is different about your products/ services, what makes you stand out etc
- Monitoring new trends and changes in the market – are there new products/ services available that you should be offering, is there new technology available to make the customer experience better, is there new technology available to reduce overheads to your business
And then ACTIVELY using this information to make CONSTANT IMPROVEMENTS – whether large or small – to your business.
So to Practice what I Preach….. at the start of last year I put effort into creating a detailed Business Plan for myself (the first since I started out on my own business venture in 2013!!!). I reviewed my previous business activity by month and year and set goals and projections for what I wanted to achieve. This review created an awareness of activities I was doing well….. as well as those that I needed to lift my game on (ie I was offering way too many discounts!!). It also encouraged me to identify specific changes I should make and new activities I could undertake to increase business (such as utilising social media and increasing business networking).
When I reviewed my activity and performance for the year, I was able to tick a lot of boxes – which was great!! But I realised that I still had room for more….. and I want more….. more of what? You may ask…..
- More for my Clients….. customer and user experience
- More for my Candidates..… efficient and positive process
- More Capacity for my Clients & Candidates
- More cost effectiveness
- More business!!!
To get more out of my business, I need to make positive changes and improvements……..so stay tuned for what that means….. and what that looks like…..
