Best Practices for Business Growth

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Best Practices for Business Growth

In today’s business market, trends emerge so quickly in an increasingly digital environment that it’s important to be adaptable. Successful business owners take advantage of the tools and resources available to them so that they can always monitor market shifts and situate their business practices in ways to meet market needs. 

Thinking ahead isn’t just about predicting future trends, but also about being prepared for potential pitfalls. Protecting systems, for example, against data breaches, malware attacks, and other malicious intrusions will save you money in the long run. Preparedness is also about a solid business plan, and successful companies often include practices that are easily replicable. As your business expands, such practices will make increasing office capacity or even building franchises more efficient.

While business is about taking risks, your risks should be calculated and you should establish practices that keep your base business strong as you decide risks that are best for your company. With that in mind, here are some ways to build excellent business foundations.

1. Pay attention to your customers
   1. Work to understand your customers’ needs: it’s important to know who your customers are. Ask your best customers for feedback and use technology to solicit feedback from all customers.
   2. Provide excellent customer service: technology gives you the tools to be attentive to your customers’ needs and problems. You are well served to develop a system for easy customer service, to respond quickly, and to work to resolve disputes.
   3. Nurture and build: there is a fine balance in business between nurturing your existing customers and working to build new client bases. Newsletters, blog posts, and return customer incentives are great ways to keep existing customers connected and can also be used to draw new customers into your circle.
2. Take care of employees
   1. Hire the best: Christian Lanng, CEO of Tradeshift, advises "Hiring the absolute best people you can is a surefire way to ensure fast growth." Good employees create satisfactory transactions and also build potential for word-of-mouth recommendations for your business.
   2. Do what you do best and leave the rest: you hire employees for their strengths, which may not be yours. Focus on what you do best and let your employees exhibit their strengths in making your business successful. If you need to, contract out services you don’t feel comfortable with to companies with demonstrated expertise in the areas you need help with.
   3. Communicate: Regular meetings with your employees not only allow you to convey your needs, but also allow them to be heard. If you listen and respond, you will let them know their voices matter--and they might also provide valuable frontline advice on how to make your business grow and thrive.
   4. Treat them well: Employees are an asset, so listening to what benefits are important to them will help you build that asset. Provide the things they need, such as flex time, training, or other benefits, when you can. Bonuses are also a great way to build morale and to recognize a job well done.
3. Make connections
   1. Network: connect with local businesses, people in your trade, and community leaders to help spread the word of your business locally.
   2. Host an event: inviting customers, vendors, and business connections to an event is not only good advertising for you, but a way to create cross connections that may pay off down the road.
   3. Build brand awareness: use local connections to sponsor other events, teams, or gatherings and utilize these moments to make your brand prominent.
   4. Be socially responsible: so much in today’s digital market is about creating a brand story, and nothing speaks more to your customer than understanding causes that they champion and building a brand around that. Use your sponsorship to speak to your social awareness and create content that aligns with the causes you choose.
4. Utilize technology
   1. Utilize social media: it is so important for today’s business to be socially connected. Social media offers your business platforms to spread branding messages, to communicate with customers, to understand your competitors, to connect through content, and to build a brand story.
   2. Practice social listening: whether through your own channels or through other sites and platforms, listen to what your customers are saying and build on your successes or rework the problems.
   3. Unify branding: while each social platform has its unique demands, keep branding consistent across social media channels. This is key to brand recognition.
   4. Research competitors: using social media to understand your competitors is an excellent way to see how your business can improve. Look at what competitors are doing right and where they seem to fall short. By doing so, you can build a brand identity that fills in the gaps.

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Guest Author: Ivan Young is a writer from Happy Writers, Co. in partnership with leading stethoscope distributor Stethoscope.com