Friday 19th of September 2014
The New Year is knocking on the door, and the holiday season is the perfect time to retrospect an
...d rejuvenate. The past two years have been challen...
The New Year is knocking on the door, and the holiday season is the perfect time to retrospect and rejuvenate. The past two years have been challenging for most small businesses. However, if you have made it this far without shutting down, you should feel proud of your achievement. However, this is not the time to become complacent. You need to plan to maintain the growth momentum.
New Year resolutions are not only meant for personal development, but they can also make a lot of difference to your professional life. So, whether you are a seasoned entrepreneur or have recently bought a business for sale in Australia, you need resolutions for your venture in 2022. These resolves will help you enhance the systems for the success of the venture. So, here is a list of the ideal resolutions that can help small business owners to lead their businesses towards progress.
The pandemic made most brick-and-mortar stores switch to e-commerce during the lockdowns to survive. However, after two years, everyone has realised the convenience of shopping and selling online. As a marketer, you can reach a wider audience, get a huge number of orders, and deliver the products across the nation and internationally. Thus, it is vital to make the online shopping experience of your buyers more interesting and streamlined.
Redesign your website to give it a fresh and chic look in the new year and include all the functionalities that make shopping online a cakewalk for the customers. From easy navigation and call-to-action buttons to rich images and informative product descriptions, add everything your customers need. Make sure that it is optimised for all devices as a lot of buyers use smartphones for product searches and shopping.
Every entrepreneur has a business plan for his venture that works as a roadmap and gives a sense of direction to the workforce. However, the business plan keeps getting tweaked along the way due to economic conditions or some internal matter. Thus, you must assess and revise it according to the current circumstances. Most of the businesses had to go through a paradigm shift during the pandemic and had no time to work on the plan.
With the New Year around the corner, it is the best time to review your plan and make it in accordance with the changing economy, customer buying behaviour and upcoming challenges. The financial projections and the sales targets must be adjusted, and the staff must be acquainted with the new plan to make them productive, motivated, and invigorated.
Marketing plays a significant role in generating sales and creating brand awareness. However, the ways of promoting the products and services need to align with the information consumption channels, touchpoints, content requirements, and market trends. At the end of the day, the customer is the king, and you need to please the king to stay in business. Thus, you need to look at the market and analyse what is working and which is the best way to connect with the target audience.
It goes without saying that digital marketing is a must-have for all small and big businesses. Customers are hooked to the internet more than ever before, and it is the best platform to reach them. Digital marketing allows two-way communication, entertainment, delivery of information, brand promotion, customer loyalty, word-of-mouth publicity, and brand exposure. With so many benefits and very little investment, it is the best way to find new customers and retain them.
The way you make your customers feel is of utmost significance when you are dealing with them. With most communication now taking place online, it has become even more vital to stay transparent and immediately address the buyers' issues. A single negative review or rating can lead to a barrage of hate towards the brand and affect its reputation and sales.
Thus, you need to be prompt with your customer service and customise the communication to make them feel special when you are sending emails and SMS. Respond to queries instantly and listen to your customers so that they feel heard and important. Outstanding customer service ensures customer retention as they come back to you with more orders. You will be able to build lasting relationships that will boost sales and referrals.
While you are gearing up for changes in 2022, you must tweak your operations for the new goals and objectives laid down in the business plan. The organisation should be prepared for the rise in the number of orders through e-commerce. It will require additional stock, experienced and trained staff, streamlined functions, expanded distribution team, new equipment, etc.
Also, as an entrepreneur, you need to delegate responsibilities to your staff so that the new processes and policies are rolled out smoothly. It can be tiring to manage everything on your own. Delegating work will help boost efficiency among accountable employees, reduce the burden on the entrepreneur, build the skills of the team, increase teamwork, collaboration, and encouragement.
The business world has learned during the pandemic that automation is the need of the hour. Using software and automated processes help save time and effort. In addition, it eliminates the risk of human error that can lead to financial losses. Automation offers the advantage of completing repetitive and monotonous work in much less time and with utmost proficiency. For example, cloud-based accounting software has helped in doing away with manual data entry and number crunching.
It ensures that all the documents are arranged and safely preserved for reference. It saves the cost of employing people for these jobs and improves transparency as all the data is available online and can be accessed by authorised people in the company. The software helps maintain compliance with industry regulations as they get updated with every new industry guideline.
Expanding your network is like broadening your horizons. You need to find like-minded people in the industry and business fraternity by becoming a part of business workshops, webinars, discussion forums, conclaves, etc. With a bigger network, you can learn more about dealing with the challenges brought about by the pandemic and identifying new opportunities in the market. It is also the best way to find venture capitalists, brand partners and collaborators.
Besides your professional network, you need to come closer to the community where you are operating. You need to give back to society so that the local population feels emotionally connected to the brand. You can sponsor a local sports team or organise a charity event to earn goodwill and respect.
Conclusion
The New Year is the right time to set new goals and go all out to achieve them. If you own a start-up or have bought a business for sale in Australia, you must have your list of resolutions ready for your business.
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