What are some things new businesses need in order to be successful?
When looking at the statistics of the success rate of new small businesses, one can become apprehensive about starting up a business. While it’s true that new small businesses have a high failure rate and only a very small success rate, there are five things that first-time business owners can do in order to have a successful company.
#1: Create a branding strategy
This is a type of marketing strategy that markets your company image, rather than your products or services. Companies with the most successful brand images are easily recognized by their logo and/or company name, and the brand itself evokes a certain image in the minds of its customers. There are four parts of a branding strategy:
1. Purpose: What’s the purpose of your company?
2. Consistency: Every part of your company should align with your brand.
3. Emotion: How can you connect with your target audience on a deeper level?
4. Employee Involvement: The face of your company.
To achieve this, the first thing you must do is personalize your branding strategy. What makes your company different from all of the other companies similar to it? Personalization will help you to better understand the four parts of a branding strategy.
#2: Fill your talent pipeline
A talent pipeline is an entryway to a pool of qualified people that a company can easily hire from to add to the team. This pool of talent can be easily created by developing a strategy to attract the most qualified, staying in constant contact with them, and nurturing them— even if you haven’t hired them yet. All of this can be done and managed by a recruitment agency, and some will even help you develop your brand to market to potential candidates.
At the same time, don’t neglect your current employees. You should continue to invest in them to prevent high employee turnover rates. Also, if you use a recruitment agency to help you attract the best employees for your business, you’re less likely to have high employee turnover rates.
#3: Maintain good customer/client relationships
Businesses are nothing without their customers or clients, and this includes businesses whose customers/clients are other businesses (called B2B companies). Appealing to the customer is what gets the customer attracted to your business and can also turn them into a repeat customer. This first begins with creating a product or providing a service that they want, and then you follow it up with excellent customer service.
You should always monitor your ongoing relationship with your current customers and your relationship with your potential customers. This can be done with the help of customer relationship management (CRM) software.
#4: Keep innovating
So you’ve reached the ranks (or surpassed them) of your biggest competitors… now what? More likely than not, your competitors are going to try and imitate you, so this means that you’ll have to improve on what you’re already providing or provide something new altogether. The businesses that last longer are the ones that are always innovating.
When it comes to innovation for small businesses, you can try something as simple as showing your customers how much you appreciate their business. This can be done by running promotions, such as special sales or even giveaways.
#5: Stay on top of the latest technology
In order to be successful, businesses can’t shy away from the latest technology— especially if that technology will help their business run smoother. An example would be a new business software that provides managed services for your business, such as those offered by JDE Consulting. New technologies have the potential to allow you to cut costs in certain areas, and that can even include your prices.
The latest technology can also improve customer experience, making customers happier to do business with you. Some of the latest technology you acquire may also be used by your customers. This can be something as simple as making your business website mobile-friendly since many people use smartphones more often than laptops.
A good example of a larger successful company is Apple. They have successfully created a recognizable brand, they always seem to easily find employees to fill vacant positions, the majority of their customers are satisfied with the company, and they stay on top of the latest technology and are constantly innovating their products.
While not every small business will become the next Apple, they can still become very successful by following these tips. The key is to stay consistent and keep improving where you can.
