The New Year is a great time to step back and take a fresh look at your business. Achieving success in 2016 is a matter of looking strategically at what has and hasn’t worked in the past, so that you can plan for the future.
Start the year by asking yourself what success means to you. This may seems like an obvious question. But if you ask five different small business owners to define success, you will get five different answers.
People start their businesses for different reasons and everyone has different motivations. To achieve success, the first thing you need to do is define what it is for you and understand how to measure it. Is it able having the freedom to work the hours that suit you, or is it able earning more than you could working for someone else? By defining what you want to achieve you can then plan to make sure it happens.
Six ways to achieve business success
Here are some simple and very measurable ways to track your success in 2016:
1. Analyse sales reports
Use your accounting software to create sales reports and take a look at performance over the last year. Have sales been increasing? Are there seasonal peaks and troughs? And how can you prepare for these in 2016?
2. Look at profit and costs
How is your business tracking when it comes to costs? What is your profit year-on year? And how can you improve it?
3. Identify your revenue earners
It’s vital that you understand which products or services are your best and worst performers so you can expand into your best performing areas. Take a critical look at why some products or services aren’t doing as well and re-evaluate whether you continue with them.
4. Review customer satisfaction levels
To figure this out you could ask your customers (in person or online): “How was our customer service today?” You’ll gain valuable insights from hearing your customers’ feedback in their own words. By analysing their answers you’ll get an overall score for customer satisfaction and can use this information to identify opportunities and improve your service.
5. Evaluate your marketing tactics
Is your Twitter channel working for you? Do you post regularly on Facebook? Do a deep dive into your website analytics to see which traffic sources your sales are coming from. For example, if your biggest and best-performing traffic source is from Facebook, consider dedicating more time to that channel.
6. Check out the competitors – and stay ahead of them
Are you one step ahead of your competitors or are you always playing catch up? 2016 could be your year to take charge and break away from your competitors by thinking outside the box. See what the competition is doing by regularly looking at product or service reviews from their customers on their website or social media channels.
If you want to maximise your success in 2016 talk to the team here at Omnis Group. We can help you identify opportunities to improve your business performance, reduce costs and generate more sales. You will be amazed at the amount of hidden information and opportunities your business financials hold.
For more ways to improve your business performance check out our FREE Resources page