Are you going through the same old motions that worked in the past with fewer results today? Have you run out of good ideas? Are your competitors taking business away from you? If so, what you might need to do is make a few tweaks to energize your business improvement and growth.
It doesn’t need to be a major overhaul of your business. A few minor tweaks might be enough. The important thing is to recognize the need for action and make informed decisions.
To identify where changes are most needed, you will have to dig for details about various aspects of your business. Don’t focus on individual issues, but how they fit together as a whole.
Start with these 5 areas:
1. Create a New Image
Has your customer base changed since you first started? Is the market broader or narrower, older or younger, more upscale or less? You might need a new image, revved up branding or perhaps just a rewrite of your website and marketing materials.
2. Improve Value Delivered
Take a hard look at whether your products or services are competitive and performing up to customer value expectations. Your goal should be to exceed value expectations. Your own customers can help with this. Talk with your customers and get feedback on how your products or services are adding value to their business and what could be done to improve them.
3. Improve Marketing Results
If your marketing is not generating a large number of leads and buying customers, it may be time to re-evaluate and devise a new marketing strategy. Take a look at your message, presentation, what you are offering and the marketing methods used to reach your target customer.
4. Recapture Your Enthusiasm
Revisit your original business plan. You might be able to recapture some of the insight and enthusiasm you originally had when starting your business. Think back to your most successful promotions, presentations or sales efforts. Rather than reinventing the wheel, you might be able to update and expand an approach that has already worked for your business in the past.
5. Seek Outside Perspectives
Don’t be afraid to seek outside perspectives from others. After all, you might be too close to the situation to understand the key issues, sources and potential solutions. Meet and brainstorm with your trusted advisers, mentors, friends, partners, employees and outside consultants. Ask customers to give you frank feedback.
A few tweaks to your business may be just what is needed to energize your business improvement and growth.