|
A
new year calls for new approaches to small business
Running your own company can be a very satisfying
endeavor, but it is rarely easy. To succeed and ultimately thrive,
you must evaluate, re-evaluate, define and refine your company's strategies.
The beginning of a new year is a good time to start
this process. Here are 10 resolutions for any small business --
from a proprietorship to a mom-and-pop operation to a company with
dozens of employees -- that can help ensure its continued or improved
success.
1. Reflect and review. Dust off that business
plan and review the company goals and objectives you set last year.
Did you accomplish them? If not, why? The answer will help those
who failed, in part or whole, not to repeat the mistake. Those who
succeeded will have the enviable task of expanding on their goals
and objectives.
If you've been operating without a business plan,
it's not too late. A business
plan could make a good company better. Software, online portals
and independent Web sites provide a plethora of information for
developing a business plan. The money that can be saved and expenses
avoided negate any excuse for not developing your business plan.
2. Listen to your customers. Their feedback
is crucial to learning where you succeeded and failed. Your method
of contact should be one that encourages your customers to respond.
It may be a phone call, post card, e-mail or face-to-face conversations.
Try not to be long-winded or pose many questions. Open-ended questions
about how they were treated, what they liked and disliked are probably
most suitable. Try to target your repeat customers. They are the
greatest source of income and referrals of new customers.
3. Streamline your company's offerings. What
you learn from your customer survey will, in part, help you out
here, but also look at what your accounting ledger is telling you.
Did you offer products or services that simply did not generate
significant sales? Don't invest in a product or service that does
not generate a net profit after expenses unless it is directly tied
to generating satisfactory sales in another category. A thorough
understanding of what products you should sell will help you control
inventory and, in turn, your bottom line.
4. Evaluate and adjust your advertising and promotional
strategy. It should always be reviewed for the return on that
investment; remember to think
effective, not cheap. When you survey your existing clients,
ask if they were attracted to you business because of any particular
advertisement or promotion. If a Yellow Pages advertisement is part
of your budget, make sure it does the job of attracting clients.
For many small businesses, it is the most expensive of all advertising
media.
5. Establish and take advantage of a business network.
If you are home-based, you don't have the advantage of the storefront
advertising. Memberships in chambers of commerce and other business-support
groups become even more critical. It can be very easy to evaluate
the return on a membership expense. Giving workshops, offering organizational
discounts and monitoring the origin of sales from other group members
is not a difficult challenge.
|
