One of the most significant challenges any business owner faces is to create business stability no matter the situation. Whether instability is caused by a flagging economy, a hurricane, or a global pandemic, your business is vital to you, your customers, and your employees. With that in mind, it is essential to keep your company stable or growing, no matter the situation.
How to Keep Your Business Stable
The team at Business Success Consulting Group has been helping businesses throughout this global pandemic and economic downturn. During this unprecedented time, we have seen all manner of reactions. We have seen businesses across the world shutter their doors – and we have seen companies pivot into a new business model. We have witnessed traditionally brick-and-mortar companies thrive online, and we have seen business owners find their footing in a new reality.
With these examples in mind, we wanted to share our insight into business stability when all else seems unstable.
Evaluate what has worked and what will continue to work.
Even as the world around you changes and as your business needs to pivot, you do not have to throw the baby out with the bathwater. For example, if you have a valuable product that has sold for the last twenty years, chances are, you have weathered several storms. Even if something unprecedented happens, your product can likely continue to sell.
Look at where your company needs to pivot.
We are currently seeing companies pivot throughout the world to keep customers and employees safe during this global pandemic. It may be that your business needs to follow social distancing and masking regulations – or you may need to continue to do business online only. The companies that are slow on the uptake are the businesses that lose out, so be willing to pivot and implement changes as needed.
Add reliable processes to your company so that everyone is on the same page.
Employees need stability within the office, and customers need to have a similar experience with your company, no matter what is going on in the world. This is where written and effectively implemented processes and procedures come in.
When you have processes and procedures implemented, your business runs smoothly, and customers gain consistency. The processes and procedures can be updated, but the core on which they run remains the same, and that adds stability and continuity to your company.
Have the team leads and employees of successful areas write down what they have been doing to make the area thrive.
There is vital knowledge to be gained if you have an area of your business that thrives throughout any situation. Ask your team leads and employees to write down what they do every day, along with how they do it. You will likely find a nugget of knowledge there that can be used company-wide.
Even if you do not find something remarkable that these employees do, now you have the ability to keep the area consistently successful, come what may.
Open lines of communication – both internally and externally.
Keeping the internal communication lines open during a difficult time allows employees and leaders to fix any issues that may arise rapidly. This is vital when your company is overcoming difficulties over which it has little control.
On the other hand, many companies do not talk with their clients and customers about what is going on. During times of economic or environmental crisis, they become a black hole for information. Not only does this allow customers to forget the business endures, but it also creates concern in those with whom a company has existing obligations or contracts.
Instead of reducing communication with the outside world or internalizing a crisis, it is time to speak up and talk with customers about what you are doing to face unprecedented change. This can be done in a newsletter, over social media, through an ad campaign, or through direct emails. No matter how you do it, ensure the lines of communication with customers are open and honest.
Be willing to cut actions and positions that no longer serve the business.
As the world outside of a business changes, so does that company’s needs. Be sure to evaluate what your company is doing that does not work and end those actions. It is also very possible that a position within your company needs to change or is no longer necessary. As tough as it can be, you need to be willing to remove that position or talk with the employee about completely changing roles.
Create and monitor metrics.
Monitoring metrics during a time of change can be hard, but it is vital. Additionally, if you are changing some internal structures, new metrics will be needed so that you can audit these updates and ensure they are successful.
Provide frequent reviews of what is working and what is not.
It is not enough to change something to fit a new niche or customer need. You must review the business updates frequently. The goal of any review is to keep actions that work and cut out steps that do not work. It’s a simple yet effective tool to help you control your business when the world outside is out of your control.
Keep in successful processes, even if other businesses are cutting them.
Right now it seems that businesses across the world are cutting entire departments or shuttering their doors until a more opportune time. This is not the way to a successful business. Your company needs to operate off of hard data. If something works, keep it. If something does not work right now, pivot.
One example we have seen time and time again is companies removing their marketing departments. This is painful to watch as marketing is the best way to reach both existing and new clients during changing times.
Don’t “jump off the cliff” with other business owners just because “they did it first.” Instead, make choices by evaluating data.
At Business Success Consulting Group, we work with companies to build essential processes and procedures that provide a bulwark during difficult times. Contact us today to find out more during your free initial consult.
