Small businesses have had it tough in that last two years and 2011 will be another year of operating in a challenging economic environment. After any spell of contraction, business owners are likely to continue to find it difficult long after the 'crisis point' has passed.
To help stabilise and strengthen your business, it's important to make sure the basics are being done efficiently and effectively, i.e. customer retention through levels of service.
It is true to say if your business is finding it tough in a particular sector then your competitors will be too. But you need to be ready for when the economic environment becomes more favourable, and you will then face:
• more competition or fewer customers
• greater pressure on prices as customers look for “a deal”
• reduced workforce - you will have cut costs and now need to maintain the level of service with fewer people
• reduced funding – working capital is less readily available so you need a solution
• reduced cashflow - due to customers taking longer to pay or bad debts being incurred
The key issue here, once things have improved, is not to grab every piece of business as there will be the danger of “overtrading.” Remember the old adage, “turnover is vanity, profit is sanity and cash is king.” So if your business has got through the tough times and needs to be ready for the upturn then please contact Richard Dare on 01202 8975900 and ensure that you have the right strategies in place to be ahead of your competitors.
To help stabilise and strengthen your business, it's important to make sure the basics are being done efficiently and effectively, i.e. customer retention through levels of service.
It is true to say if your business is finding it tough in a particular sector then your competitors will be too. But you need to be ready for when the economic environment becomes more favourable, and you will then face:
• more competition or fewer customers
• greater pressure on prices as customers look for “a deal”
• reduced workforce - you will have cut costs and now need to maintain the level of service with fewer people
• reduced funding – working capital is less readily available so you need a solution
• reduced cashflow - due to customers taking longer to pay or bad debts being incurred
The key issue here, once things have improved, is not to grab every piece of business as there will be the danger of “overtrading.” Remember the old adage, “turnover is vanity, profit is sanity and cash is king.” So if your business has got through the tough times and needs to be ready for the upturn then please contact Richard Dare on 01202 8975900 and ensure that you have the right strategies in place to be ahead of your competitors.
To find out more about any of these stories or Ward Goodman please contact 01202 875900
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