Millions of businesses around the world start up on a daily basis with the hopes of offering products and services which will better their rivals. Whilst many of these start-up businesses become a runaway success, the rest aren’t so lucky, unfortunately.
So, what is it that makes a business successful? Well, you might be surprised to learn that there are a number of things which a business needs to do and be aware of in order to survive. The follow points represent some of the main factors that can make or break a company in the 21st century.
Customer Service
All businesses have customers, regardless of whether they are internal or external customers. If a business did not have any customers buying their products and services, it wouldn’t make any money. It’s as simple as that.
In order to retain customers and be attractive to new ones, businesses need to aim for and achieve exceptional levels of customer service. If your customers think you suck, they’ll spend their money with your competitors and tell everyone how rubbish you are.
Flexibility
I’ve seen a lot of companies in my time that have gone bust. It wasn’t because they weren’t selling things that people weren’t interested in; it was because they were not flexible enough to embrace changing market conditions.
For example, if you have a hi-fi store and you only sell ‘separates’ (i.e. individual home stereo components such as amplifiers and optical drives), you won’t be able to maximise your profits by offering new types of products that customers are also interested in, such as media streaming devices and wireless speakers, for example.
Support Services
Any business needs to rely on third-party solutions in order to help them complete their daily tasks, but it is important that you choose the right solutions for your business in order to be as productive and efficient as possible.
Construction companies would need to rely on the services of an employment agency to fulfil worker quotas for construction jobs; telecom companies would need a telecom BSS solution to enable them to keep track of what their customers are using so that they can be billed correctly.
Technology
Unless you have just transported yourself here in a time machine from 1955, your business will need to have the right technology in order to function properly. Such technology that your firm would need includes:
- Computer systems – desktops, laptops, tablets;
- Telephone systems – landlines, smartphones;
- Internet – fixed-line broadband, 3G or 4G mobile broadband.
Sales and Marketing
It’s all very well and good having some great products and services, but producing them will be a waste of time unless you have an effective sales and marketing plan in place.
This includes having the right staff for the job, who can go out and promote your brand to your target audience, as well as continually developing new ways of reaching out to those people that you want to sell to. A lot of marketing can be done online and for little to no cost.
