Are You Running Your Business Operations Efficiently?
If you’re running a business then you need to know where it is working and where it could stand improvement. In this article we look at some of the things you should be looking at in order to determine how well your business is doing and what to look for to see how it’s fairing
It can be hard to tell how well your business is doing if you haven’t really got any previous histories to compare it to. Whether you’re new, or you’re doing the best you’ve ever done unless you’re going below what you’re used to; it can be hard to tell when you’re not doing great. Many factors go into a business’s success and many that can be helped along to further increase what you’re gaining from that.
If you’re looking to get the most from your business, you should be looking into all the ways in which you can improve your operations. Typically, in every situation, there’s something you can do better, and there’s not really any reason you should be settling for less. You’d be surprised how much money you could be losing on these simple tips, so don’t wait any longer to put that extra work in!
Bread & Butter
When it comes to your primary income, the process that’s making and costing you the most money, it’s best to make sure you’ve done your research to get the best from it. There are many ways in which you can optimise this, all of which require a bit of market research.
First off, the market that you sell your products/services should be checked. What are your competitors doing? Are you underselling? Are you overselling? Having your price even a little off can cost you significantly, whether you’re losing money on the products, or losing customers to competitors; something’s got to be changed!
If you’re a business that primarily gains from selling products, you might want to look into your manufacturer/supplier. You might find that there are cheaper options you could get without having to drop your standard of quality. Whether it’s a promotional deal or just a change of supplier completely; it’s important that you can pay attention to what options open up to you as you grow!
Workflow
Optimising your workflow can mean many things, and it all depends on what your whole operations consist of. Your first focus should be your employees. Are they all pulling their weight? It’s not uncommon for individuals to have a few too many sick days, or others to start slacking later on in their employment; which can be for many reasons! Monitoring this can help you identify where the downfalls are and you can do something about it.
Most of the time, when an employee appears to be abusing this freedom, you would organise a meeting with them to confront them and discuss future changes. You may at this point decide to let them go and look for a replacement, or perhaps if possible, giving them a chance and looking for the right improvements to be made. Sometimes the problem isn’t with the employees, but the workplace itself.
Next up is how you delegate your workflow, as you might find that you’re using your resources unnecessarily. You should look for ways to use your employees as efficiently as possible, while also keeping the money that you need to invest in them in mind. Many businesses look to reach out for third-parties to take on some of their workflows, as it can come with many benefits.
Not only is outsourcing cheaper a lot of the time, you are almost guaranteed the quality that the business has a reputation for. If it’s something that you don’t need your own employees to do, having certain workflows outsourced can save you money, and free up time for your own employees to work on something better instead.
Automation is a big part of optimising your workflow, as it can cut down process times completely. Many operations within businesses require some form of automation, as the time and money it would cost for employees to do can make a significant difference.
For example; you can invest in software to help cover things like absences or schedules, something that would cost you by the hour otherwise. If you’re a private medical business, you would likely want to invest in practice management software so you can make your workflow that much more efficient. Who knows how much time you could be saving? If you want to sell products online, you have to make sure it’s automated just so you can make any kinds of sales. Customers expect an instant service when they see a product they want, and they’re likely going to be browsing your site after-hours; you’d be losing out on a lot of profit without it!
Advertising
Advertising your business has many different angles that each company should approach differently if they want to get the best results from it. It’s all very well paying to have your brand advertised on specific sites or in public, but you can never be sure that you’re reaching the right target audience. Instead, it’s better to find the best advertisement for you to make the best cost-to-gains investment.
You might find that using social media is the best way for you to advertise your brand, of which there are many different platforms for you to choose from. Social media has multiple ways for you to advertise, too; whether it’s your own workings, or you pay for promotions to be spread around.
Firstly, you can make a profile on any social media for your business and can use it to represent your brand; from this, you can find a decent amount of exposure for your promotions. Many businesses have some kind of personality on social media, which can help greatly when it comes to gaining an audience; everyone loves a brand they can connect with.
Source: Pexels
If you already have a social media page for your business, paying for promotion isn’t a bad way to go either. For example; on Twitter, you may have noticed that you are shown advertisements based on what you’ve been viewing in the past. The way this works is, ads are shown to people who have relevant browsing history to the brand; this way you’re guaranteed to find many people who would be interested in what you have to offer.
Don’t let your business’s cash go to waste; you should always be looking for ways to increase your income and decrease the outgoings; even if your business is doing better than it has ever done before. It’s not greedy to optimise your operations, but there are some changes you can take that might risk your reputation, so don’t be careless when managing any improvements!