Generally, one of the fastest and most effective ways to boost productivity and results is to implement a system of measurement and accountability. There are lots of ways to do this, but the easiest way is to simply track your key numbers at regular intervals. These intervals could be daily, every 2 days, weekly, etc. depending on which is convenient.
The principle behind this is that whatever is tracked and measured can be improved and this is true regardless of the aspect where improvement is needed.
Key numbers can mean anything depending on what exactly you want to improve. If your intentions are to increase results from your weight loss program for example, your key numbers could be tracking your calories consumed versus calories burnt, number of repetitions of each routine you perform, etc.
When focusing on improving a business' results, operations, and performance, there are various areas that could be examined. And while the importance of each particular area may vary in different businesses depending on the industry, and nature of the business-- types of products and services it offers and goals, the smart analyst or business owner will strive to have optimal results in every area.
These areas include:-
1 Product or service quality: One of the key factors affecting a business' results is the quality of the products it sells or service it renders. Does the business' product or service accurately deliver the values it says it does? How often? And how well does it compare to similar products and services on the market?
There are various ways one can determine product or service quality but the best way is to take the perspective of the customer through surveys and invitations for feedback.
2 Customer Satisfaction: A lot of businesses suffer sub par results because their customer service and satisfaction is below average.
Customers often report that one of the reasons they leave a business is because they felt unappreciated and taken for granted. So how happy are your customers with your dealings with them? How effective are you in responding to inquiries? How efficient are you in handling any customer issues post-sale? How well do you treat your customers generally? How often do you experience repeat sales? Are your customers talking about you in positive ways to others?
All these contribute to the results a business will have.
3 Finance: You're in business to make interest and profits. So are you actually doing this? Are your products and services high margin? Are your expenses minimized? Do you know which products/services you offer that are the most profitable?
By tracking your business' key numbers like gross revenue, gross profit, average profit per sale, expenses, net profit, etc. at regular intervals, you will have an accurate picture of the financial state of your business.
4 Modularity and Team work: Considering your business most likely consists of various components and aspects, what's the measure of the independence and inter relations of these various components? Can each function effectively by itself when needed without relying on other components? Further, are the interactions between the various components smooth and efficient?
Do you employ leverage in the form of team work? Are you encouraging, motivating, and inspiring your employees, salespeople, subcontractors, and partners to do and be their best? Are these people doing well in your business? How well? Could they be doing better?
5. Structural Development: Does your business run efficiently? Smoothly? Are all supplies, resources and materials needed for production or operations timeously available? Are your business goals clear and realistic? Is the business always moving in a pre-defined direction? Are your board, management team and key stakeholders in harmony and agreement with the overall picture and direction of your business?
6. Adaptation and Innovation: How tuned in are you to the general business environment? Are you proactive about your adaptive activities? How quick and flexible are you to adapt and implement changes in your business processes to enable you stay relevant and competitive in the market?
Are you consistently on the look out for new ideas, new approaches, new markets, and/or new products or services? Or are you comfortable in what you've always been selling?
7 Redundancy and Diversity: Is your business set up in such a way that it has multiple sources of everything? Do you offer a variety of products or services to increase the likelihood of prospects doing business with you? Are the industries you operate in varied and spread out?
Today's intense competitive business landscape has made it almost required that you diversify your products, services, operations, and customer/client base if you're to stay relevant and profitable.
8 Marketing: You may have the best product or service in the world but if too few people know about it, then your business will struggle.
Some business owners think that the product they sell or service they render is more important than the marketing of these. This is naive at best. There have been countless times where businesses that sold a quality product or service failed because they didn’t market enough. Further, there are also many businesses that sold average products or services that succeeded because they marketed well and often.
Needless to say, marketing is very important. So are your marketing campaigns active and ongoing? Is there a genuine focus on getting the word out about your business?
The efficiency of your marketing operations can be measured using various criteria which include:
Number of prospects generated by the marketing source, technique or campaign.
Number of inquiries from the prospects that are generated.
Percentage of those inquiries who turn into an appointment or real engagement.
Percentage of those inquires that turn into a sales presentation.
Percentage of sales presentations that turn into an actual sale.
Size of the average sale.
Number of times the customer comes back to purchase more products/services from you.
Systems you have in place to re-engage and maintain communications with people who don’t buy from you initially.
Among others.
The marketing sources or campaigns that yield the highest results in these areas should be kept up and the sources offering lesser or unacceptable results should be discarded.
So go ahead and evaluate how your business is performing in the above mentioned departments.
Doing so will probably be the most profitable task you will ever do.
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