It matters not whether you’re managing a startup, a medium-sized business or a business that’s hitting the peaks in your market, there are always measures that can be taken to ensure steady growth is not destabilized in the rough seas of the business world. Many problems are pitfalls that businesses stumble awkwardly over are foreseeable and preventable, but they just require that bit more time and capital to prevent against. In this article, you’ll find some of the most important areas of your business to protect so that they are robust enough to endure when times get tough.
Manage Publicity
While publicity in business usually entails some savvy marketing strategies, advertising routes, and a well-put-together website or app, there is another side to the world talking about your company or product that is far less beneficial: bad publicity. Don’t lie back on the maxim that bad publicity is better than no publicity, for this is no longer true in the digital age when complaints against you can quickly become a viral sensation.
Instead, have an action plan for many eventualities in which your company might get involved in a whirlwind of negative publicity. This is all about foreseeing problems and constructing smart, professional responses to those issues you imagine you might encounter along the way. All of this preliminary work will buy you plenty more time in publicity crises where a measured response, as opposed to a knee-jerk reaction, is preferable. Your brand can come away from the worst PR fiascos squeaky-clean if you’re prepared to manage to media maelstrom with panache.
Overload Planning
An overload of orders, clients, requests and even complaints usually means that your business is performing outstandingly and generating exactly the sort of interest that the right deployment of marketing achieves. However, it doesn’t take long for dominos to begin to fall as cracks show in the ability of your company to cover the amount of work arriving in the in-tray. These situations are incredibly stressful and messy, and mistakes begin being made that exponentially increases your employees’ workloads. Poor delivery to the customer will usually ensure that’s the first and last time they interact with your company.
In order to avoid negative reviews and alienated customers, which is something some companies struggle to come back from altogether, having a fully thought-out plan for when everything goes haywire is a must, especially for businesses likely to experience seasonal peaks. Think about establishing links with recruitment companies who can send in hired help within hours, and ensure that there’s enough flexibility along the whole pipeline of your business to scale in case of a peak in activity.
Financial Security
Keeping your money-flow healthy and transparent is an important facet of maintaining a growing business. You should always have as much financial security as possible built into your dealings with your company’s money. It means that the big hits in terms of payouts, legal fees, or deals that fall through in the last minute, don’t bite so hard that you’re forced to consider hefty new loans or the prospect of going bankrupt.
There are a variety of services that’ll help you out here if you’d prefer not to tackle all of these complex financial issues in-house: for example, chartered accountants and financial analysts. If you’re looking for extra security on a construction job, check out the offers for surety bond construction that will give you that bit peace of mind when embarking on big projects that, if they go wrong, could cost you even more than an arm and a leg.
Staff Welfare
A healthy and happy workforce makes the most productive businesses thrive and grow at scintillating pace. The biggest names in business know this golden rule and follow it to the letter. However, in the cut and thrust of a busy business world in which you’re juggling many responsibilities in a fast-paced environment, it is often employee welfare that takes the hit regarding the time you decide to spend with them, talking through their problems.
Always bear in mind the possibility of an unhappy, overworked and under-supervised workforce taking chunks out of your profits. As well as from a perspective of simple kindness and thoughtfulness, it is logical to ensure your workforce can operate at their best. Scheduling one-to-ones and giving rewards and time off when they’re due, even establishing some benefits like health care and dental, can change the mindset of employees, making them feel motivated and proud in their position in your company.
Dynamism
We live in an age when the digitization and automation of services are becoming an ever-closer reality for many businesses. You’ll likely have seen in the news the new Amazon supermarket that has no staff whatsoever (and no queues for the checkout), and this is just the tip of a gigantic iceberg regarding the ways in which the most cutting-edge and creative companies are adapting to a new world and the new set of rules that govern the market.
If you feel your company is one of those that might be heading towards being redundant in the years to come, it’s time to start planning for that shift right away. You see it in tobacco companies investing in alternative smoking devices, and the major energy companies turning to renewable alternatives in a world that will soon be out of fossil fuels entirely. While it’s a slightly morbid eventuality to consider, this is about taking responsibility, being dynamic to change and moving according to the times; it’s also about maintaining share price and attractiveness to new investors if you’re a big enough company. Bring the managers and creatives together to think through new, modern routes for your company to explore.
Bearing the above notes in mind, and acting on them if they seem to apply to you and your business especially, will give you the greatest-possible protection from the worrying issues that can capsize even the most stable and established of businesses. Those managers and business leaders that open up to new suggestions and services that’ll bolster their protective elements are those with the wisdom to stare the future in the eye to keep company growth ticking up in the face of external problems.