How do I go about turning stagnation into business growth?
It’s quite amazing how many of my new clients have been in business for years, but only now are experiencing stagnation in their business growth. Some come to me after experiencing a decline in their business.
All of these clients have the same concerns – they don’t understand why their financial results are declining when they haven’t actually changed a thing in their business.
Marketing? Nothing has changed, our business has grown as a result of word-of-mouth and referrals.
Recruitment? Well, yes, we did hire more staff, but that was because we increased our sales. We were getting referrals left, right and centre because of our personal service!
Processes? No, we are developing widgets the exact same way we were two years ago – I’m still working alongside staff on the floor to make sure that they do it correctly.
So if very little has changed, then why have we stopped moving forward, they ask?
The answer is simple. As business owners, we need to take responsibility for all areas of the business, not just those we are good at (like widget-making). This means that, at a high level, we need to always be developing three things:
- Our processes – we need to react to changes in technology, staff growth, improved efficiencies… the list is endless
- Our marketing – it is our responsibility to generate interest in the business and not only generate new clients, but also retain existing clients, and
- Our management – we must have our finger on the pulse when it comes to financial performance, strategies, administration and goals.
So in response to the issues identified above? They are quite simple.
What I saw was a young business that had been developed by a husband and wife team, who not only did everything themselves, but they also did it with passion. They gave their clients’ personal attention and great levels of customer service.
This, of course, resulted in business growth via referrals. The husband and wife team couldn’t keep up, so they hired staff to assist with the business.
However the processes that the duo had followed were based on their experience and knowledge. They were also based on a system that had been implemented for two people, not for three or four, as well as lacking a quality assurance process as they trusted one another’s work.
Complaints started coming in about the quality, and customers dropped off as referrals weren’t coming through so quickly any more. The husband and wife were under increasing time pressure, torn between the business, customers and staff, as well as the day-to-day running of the business. The result?
The personal service that had once set them apart was no longer evident as the husband and wife had split themselves too thin. The lack of processes resulted in falling service levels, leading to customer dissatisfaction and, with no marketing strategy in place, there was an immediate decline in business.
In addition, the husband and wife had very limited transparency around the current financial performance. All they knew was that the bills were increasing and the income declining.
Fast-forward three months, and we have a very different business. The owners took responsibility for their processes, marketing and management, taking the time to:
- Implement robust processes that were not reliant on key staff,
- Develop a marketing plan that identified their ideal customer and targeted them across a number of different platforms, and
- Allocate two hours a week to go over the finances and strategies for that quarter.
Not only that, but they also have time for golf and aqua aerobics, as well as catching up with friends.
I’d say that’s a win/win, wouldn’t you?
Are you an experienced business owner who is currently experiencing stagnation? It may just require a few simple strategies to get you back on your feet again!
Contact us on 1300 854 480 for a no-obligation chat to see how CFO@Call can put you back in the driver’s seat.
When you book a meeting we will give you a FREE copy of our world acclaimed book Why Owner-Managed Businesses STOP Growing and What you can do about it!
It describes the business system that achieves business growth.