The good news is economic forecasters think the US economy is going to keep improving in 2013, particularly if you’re a small business owner. This upturn doesn’t mean you can stop thinking about how to position your company for increased sales and better client relations in the coming year – here are a few tips from The Bag Ladies on effective business planning heading into a new calendar year:
Get Some Help:
If you’ve never sprung for a professional consultant, now may be the time. Whether you think it’s prudent to hire an accountant to get your finances in order or work with a human resources consultant to streamline your team, thinking outside your network brings in new ideas. If you’ve got the money, hiring a certified Six Sigma consultant has been shown statistically to decrease loss company-wide.
Identify This Year’s Failures:
It’s never fun (or easy) to figure out what went wrong but identifying ways to improve is the first step in making positive changes for your business. Did you lose sales because your technology wasn’t up to date? Did productivity suffer because your employees aren’t professional enough? Figuring out what’s gotten stale in your business model is tough but necessary – don’t worry about hurting feelings here, this is how you grow your business.
Be Specific About Your Goals:
Set up monthly goals for 2013 and treat them like they’re set in stone. Whether it’s sales numbers, employee retention or simply hits to your website, tangible goals help you work towards something as a team and inspire morale boosts when they’re met. Design an inexpensive but fun celebration at the end of each month to commend your employees for working hard to achieve progress.
Market More:
One of the biggest mistakes small businesses make is to cut their marketing budget the second times get tough. If you want to make sales and earn clients you’ve got to get the word out. Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive: it can be as simple as some new promotional bags or an ad in the newspaper or even handing out free samples on a monthly basis. Create a marketing plan and stick with it even if sales dip – you’ll be thankful for new customers when the old stop spending as heavily.
2013 is just around the corner! It’s time to sit down and crank out a detailed, milestone-rich plan for the year that will help your business grow and succeed. Every company is different but there are a few ways each and every small business owner can stack the deck for a productive selling year.
