Five Undeniable Ways To Make Your Small Business More Productive

Gourab Nanda

August 23, 2011


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Innovating new ways to improve the productivity of your business should definitely be your top priority. Ideas flash your mind, suggestions pop up; some seem terrific and some get discarded and some turn ineffective when implemented, the key is to look out for new ways to improve productivity. Here we have identified similar activities which can take your business to the next level.

Maximize Business Automation
Automation is not only for big businesses, it can do wonders for small businesses as well. Only businesses which have automated most of its possible processes know the real benefits of it. Treat this as no buzz-word; rather consider this a top priority goal to achieve. Start with identifying processes and tasks that can be automated with the least effort and investment and then see the value, time and benefit it brings, this can be then further taken to other non-core business processes like back office automation, customer support, IT management and so on with the help of technology, virtual assistants, etc., to reap maximum benefits.

A survey by Focus Research Study found that among those who had both purchased and implemented a marketing automation solution, the majority said that their solution had at least met ROI expectations. And for 15% respondents it exceeded expectations.

Be More Technology Savvy
Technology is the very fabric of faster growth and being tech savvy can only lead into the direction of increasing efficiency to your business processes which can bring operational and functional benefits. Age old business minds and practices cannot bring much speed into your business, you have to embrace the latest, be it online tools or third party services, the key is to know them and make them part of your business. To make it simple, always look out for technology which can make business processes easy, online free tools that make tasks simpler and tools that can bring in more benefits than conventional processes. All this and the readiness to implement them can make all the difference.

Outsource, Associate And Partner
Expand faster and grow faster should be your mantra. As a small business your focus should only run around your core, profit generating activity; be it a product that you sell or a service that you deliver. The whole idea here is to create a great infrastructure for that product or service to grow and excel and this demands time, effort and support from other supplementary service and activities. So the best thing to do is to associate with other service providers like virtual assistants or vendors who can step in and make things easier and most importantly conducive for you to work on your product or service.

According to an Accenture survey of more than 800 executives in the United States and Europe, cost savings are still a key outsourcing benefit, but the additional business controls generated by outsourcing are driving the trend to external providers. "We found those levels of control increasing throughout the transition [to outsourcing] and stabilization periods," said John Rollins, Accenture's products operating group partner. "Over half had recorded perceptible improvements in the first six months of outsourcing."

Copy Successful Small Businesses
Tony Robbins often mentions the importance of copying successful people or businesses. It’s really easy and a simple thing to do instead of chasing and trying to figure out how to get things done in the best possible way. So first identify a business which you think is successful enough to be chased and then simply understand what specifically they are doing to become successful and then simply copy it, add some focus and dedication and voila you become like them. Simple isn’t it, and it really works.

Befriend Your Customers
Few businesses think of making customers their friends, they define them as Kings and keep a distance. Involve your customers when you design a product or service, take their views as you take from your friends, make them feel that they own the product or service by the time it is released, make them talk about it and make them refer it to their friends. Ask for suggestions on how you can improve your service. Your customer is really your best judge. Cherish each suggestion or negative comment and work on them to improve productivity.