Working with so many small businesses and providing support and solutions has also opened a great topic for discussion. IS YOUR BUSINESS SCLABALE?
As an entrepreneur you are always a work -in- progress and you are never finished. You have successes and failures. But be prepared to measure your business whether a start-up with a concept or an ongoing business. This is because you can then gauge your achievements and small business milestones instead of shooting in the dark. Take it from me, you need to have a basic skeletal plan when it comes to measuring business success.
When you start your company, it's all about the bottom line- being profitable and being able to pay your bills and employees. The more experience you tuck under your belt, the more successful you become. For many, the epitome of success is another company acquiring their company. For others, It’s the legacy of knowledge that they created something that others want and that will live on through future generations. For some, success is crossing something off your dream board list and reaching milestone goals like breaking into the Inc. 500 list. My take is once you gain success, make sure you give back. Making a difference in your community goes a long way for your employees and your business. Ensure giving back is part of your company's DNA.
However, I feel that there are quite a few drivers for success you need to identify with metrics. Let's focus on two of them. The 1) financial aspect and 2) how well you look after your customer. Let us start by saying it is important to know how to analyze a business's financial statements.
1) When you think about measuring the success of your small business, you need to see how much money it’s generating. How much money is going in and out of your business?
The three main financial statements you can use at your small business are the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement.
The income statement measures the profitability of your business during a certain time period by showing your business’s profits and losses. The balance sheet shows your business’s financial health, measuring how much you owe and own. And, the cash flow statement shows how liquid cash is at your business.
Measuring business performance means checking out the money flow of your business. If you want to see how profitable your business is, check out the financial statements.
2) The second is how well do you look after your customer?
Customer retention is the sure-shot means to grow sales and profitability. Successful customer service is one that builds brand loyalty. Customer service is a reactive tactic that focuses on fixing problems in order to keep customers satisfied. However Customer Success, on the other hand, is a proactive strategy for understanding and supporting your customer's desired outcomes. It is relationship-focused client management, that aligns client and vendor goals for mutually beneficial outcomes. A few pointers under your sleeve for metrics to gauge your customer service-Customer loyalty- customer retention - customer success :
a) Making the customer journey smooth throughout the entire sales cycle. Operationalizing the
Customer Journey: Connect your technology with customer outcomes
b) Partners: Leverage Partners to Deliver Customer Outcomes
c) Analytics and Data Science: Measure Customer Engagement and Adoption
d) Touchless Digital Customer Success
e) Effective Sales Growth: Spotting Potential Upsell and Cross-Sell Opportunities
f) Keeping up with new technology trends to facilitate customers better
Here is what Jay-Dee Netter from RJ Systems, Edmonton Albertarjsystems.ca had to say when we asked him two questions about what values does his business inculcate to bring out success stories with his clients. He describes some of the key drivers that turned his business profitable.
1) What is the core value or what is the value proposition of RJ Systems?
" We are a company built on Reputation, Reliability, Honesty, and Trust. I help companies use technology to evolve, secure, and grow their businesses; ultimately, we help companies use technology as a competitive advantage."
2)what is the core value that RJ as a brand can promise or guarantee to its customers?
" Expertise, Transparency, and Trust. We position ourselves as your trusted technology partner, meaning we work to ensure the technology you are using is helping your business evolve and grow. By having a seat at the table, by positioning ourselves as a partner, we are available to our clients on multiple levels: from maintenance and management to big picture ideas and overall company vision and growth. If your company is facing a technical challenge, there is a good chance we have solved this same issue for one of our many other clients."