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How to Maximize Your Company’s Profitability

August 24, 2017 No Comments

Featured article by Calvin Paige, Independent Technology Author

The biggest problems your business might be facing is its inability to attract more customers and increase sales. If so, there are some simple tactics you can try to generate more leads and convert them into customers. Find out how to maximize your company’s profitability.

Write a Business Plan

Whether you are launching your first company or are running a successful enterprise, you must have a business plan, as it will determine every decision you make in the future. Either review an old plan or write a new one to determine your product selection and services, define marketing campaigns and estimate employee and financial growth, plus more.

Establish Great Leaders

If you are the leader of a small company, you must aim to guide your employees in the best direction for the business. Start by establishing the company mission, values, vision and goals, which should form the basis of every decision made within the business.

However, if you run a medium or large business, employ members of management who embody the company’s vision and are willing to lead by example. Hire department managements who not only have extensive experience, but can provide clear direction that is results-oriented.

Hire the Best Employees

The best companies have the best employees. That’s because each member has been carefully selected based on their talent, experience and attitude. You must be selective throughout the hiring process to ensure you hire the best candidate for your company’s needs. Look beyond their resume and portfolio to ensure they have the passion and personality that complements your business. There is no point hiring a talented employee who turns up late or has a negative attitude on every project.

Create an Effective Marketing Campaign

A marketing campaign should set your products or services apart from your industry rivals. It is your opportunity to creatively prove to a customer that you should be the first port of call in the industry. You must, therefore, learn how to differentiate your brand from your competitors, while focusing on segmentation to angle products to different audiences. It is the difference between business growth or failure.

Analyze Overheads

Business expenditure could be eating away at your company’s profits. Analyze your expenditure to look for ways to reduce your outgoings and increase your net profit. For instance, a long-term lease will ensure you pay the same rent each month without fluctuation. You should also review any insurance costs, which may have amplified following an automatic renewal. Maybe you are spending too much on advertising and yielding a small ROI, so you should reduce your budget and invest the money in a different area of the business for a greater return.

Evaluate the Cost Structure

Evaluate the cost structure to identify if you have an appropriate markup on your business food. For instance, if the cost of raw materials starts to rise, you must factor in the increase in your product range and alter the selling price. Regularly review the cost structure to ensure you are providing a price that is right for both you and the customer.

Provide an Exceptional Product or Service

It doesn’t matter how talented your employees are if a product or service isn’t up to scratch. Clever marketing and sales tactics will only get you so far in your industry, which is why you must provide a high-quality product or service that will have customers queuing around the block. Word of mouth is the best form of marketing, after all. A good product can almost sell itself.

Build a Striking Website

Your website is the door to your business. If you want people to return time and again, you must develop an aesthetically-pleasing, easy-to-navigate website design that will impress your visitors. If it looks unloved and outdated, you can almost guarantee a lead will click away to a competitor. Create a website that has the wow factor and consult Overflow Local, who can develop a creative website that complements your brand.

Review the Sales Process

Many companies spend a great deal of time and money improving their products and services, training their employees and developing effective marketing campaigns. Unfortunately, many often overlook the importance of the sales process, which is integral to a company’s profit margin.

It might be time to turn your attentions to the sales team, who must be skilled at seeking opportunities, establishing a friendly rapport, identifying prospective clients’ needs and closing a sale. They must be warm, engaging and persuasive, while making a client feel special and optimistic. Improving your sales team can improve your company’s profitability. Refine the process to reap the rewards.

Improve the Customer Experience

Are clients failing to renew their contracts with your service? Have you received bad reviews for your services? If so, you must improve the customer experience to improve satisfaction. Little changes can make a dramatic difference to a customer or client’s happiness.

For example, a marketing agency could send a thank you card to a new client for their business, or a restaurant can provide a customer with a discount or reward on their birthday. Don’t make a customer or client feel as though they are just another name in your database. Look for ways to make them feel special, and they will return to your services year after year.

Motivate Your Team

Motivational techniques can light a fire under your employees to work harder than ever before. Encourage sales teams to hit a daily, weekly or monthly target for a superb reward, or create an Employee of the Month program providing the worthy member of staff with a gift card, a bottle of champagne or maybe even an extra day off work. However, don’t set goals too high or you may demotivate your employees and damage employee morale, which can have an adverse effect on your profitability.

Do you have any tried and tested methods for improving business profitability? Feel free to share your tips and stories by writing a comment below.

 

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