If you’re a business owner then you have at least two goals: 1- Provide a quality good or service. 2- Make money doing it. Simply put, the best way to see overhead diminish and profit margins increase is to increase productivity. Ultimately you want to put the precise amount of time, skill, effort and materials needed to make the most money. Here are 5 effective ways to make that happen for your company!
- Always look for new ways to streamline operations- You are either making money or spending it. You are either growing your business or are declining. It is a must to constantly be seeking out your weaknesses, as well as continuing to build on improvements you have already made. Even making small changes in the areas that seem to be unimportant can add up. How much time could you save by eliminating unnecessary tasks? Could cutting out the middleman reduce errors from miscommunication and reduce turnaround time? Is your week packed full of regular meetings for the sake of having meetings? Cancel the ones that are unnecessary and combine those that can be covered at the same time. How much more productive would your day be if you spent time grinding out your next big thing instead of sitting in unnecessary meetings? Actively grinding out creative ways to reduce costs and increase profits will keep you on your toes and ready to nip small problems in the bud before they grow.
- Stay in the forefront of your customers’ minds- You do this in two ways: Firstly, by proving your worth with quality goods and services. Without that baseline your credibility slowly deteriorates before you’ve even earned it. Also you must be boasting an attractive and professional presence through marketing. The biggest aspect of this today is, of course, social media. Regularly produce content that is well thought out, and offers information that is valuable to your customers.
- Get organized- As we discussed in Most Common Bookkeeping Mistakes, staying organized can directly affect the health of your business. Having your books in line reveals the health of your finances, the strength and direction of your cash flow, and where you need to make changes. With detailed and organized records you will be more equipped to make sound business decisions swiftly and with certainty.
- Hire professional help- Whether it’s in the store, on the manufacturing floor, or in administration, hiring professionals to handle areas of your business that are their forte can save you a lot of time and money. Instead of pulling your hair out with the books, accounting and taxes, hire an accountant who can focus on that solely, while you focus on running your business. In fact, according to Xero, hiring a professional bookkeeper can possibly lead to a 16% increase in profitability! If you are the brains behind the product, but aren’t very good with your hands, then hire someone who is so that you can focus on fine tuning your designs. If you delegate the tasks that you find stressful, difficult, or mundane, then you can hone your craft. This will in turn make yourself and your company more productive.
- Incentivize everyone to sell for you- Make all employees and the most loyal customers into salespersons. You can do this by giving employee incentives like discounts on products and commission pay. If your product and service is creating happy customers then sweeten the deal even further with loyalty programs and discounts for them. People spread the word about products and services they believe in, so arm yourself with some die hard fans of your brand! One other way you can incentivize people to spread your brand is by creating a field expert or brand advocate program. This creates a core team of customers who feel like they are a part of the company that will fervently promote your product. With the growing importance of social media marketing your FE group can help pump out fresh and new content for a relatively low cost and can make a big difference when used in combination with other marketing efforts. According to getthereferral.com, “increases marketing effectiveness by as much as 54%.” Recommendations, reviews, and advice from brand ambassadors also hold more clout than those of regular customers. This is because brand ambassadors are seen as having more expertise or an inside scoop.
Omnis offers services to help increase your productivity and profitability. We can help streamline your day to day operations in order relieve much of the stress of running a business. Give us a call today to begin getting your business in shape!
