Move Your Business Forward

Unprecedented events of the past year or so have been tough on businesses. Thriving in a hostile economic climate and coming out ahead on the other side involves assessing your business's strengths and looking for ways to build on them.

Assessing Your Business

Identifying your business’s capabilities and needs is a good place to start. Hiring or rehiring staff and providing training are essential steps in returning to normal. If inventory and supplies are low, they’ll need to be replenished. These things come with a cost, so reviewing and potentially revamping your budget should be a priority. Then create a business plan for allocating resources that increases cash flow.

Do You Need to Change?

Reimagining how you do business doesn’t necessarily mean taking drastic steps. For example, build a website or expand your company’s site to bring in more customers. If your website doesn’t permit online ordering, adding that function can increase sales.

Businesses that rely heavily on in-person sales may benefit by making changes to their brick-and-mortar sites. Adding more space and amenities for shoppers can help make stores more customer friendly.

Your Customer Base

Great customer service is the lifeblood of any small business. It keeps current customers coming back and makes it more likely that they’ll refer others to you. You can retain current customers and attract new ones by providing products and services that meet their needs. Remember that needs may evolve over time, so pay close attention to what customers are ordering or asking for.

You can nurture existing customers by staying in contact through newsletters or emails about sales, promotions and events. Maintaining a presence on social media also can make you more visible and help promote your business.

Protecting Your Assets

You’re doing all you can to ensure your business’s survival. But there’s another essential step you should take. Property risk management includes audits, inspections, fire protection, loss investigation, property replacement costs, building code compliance and security. Keeping good records can help protect your business in the event of legal action by others.