Small companies come up against a lot of different challenges. Some are harder than others to overcome — and, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 20% of small businesses fail by the end of their first year. By the end of their fifth year, 50% go under; and by the tenth year, that number rises to 80%.
With those survival rates, it’s easy to see why folks face the first few years of business with trepidation. But, many common business problems and challenges are actually fixable. Oftentimes, one may finda need to take a step back, assess pain points, and rethink the strategy.
In this latest blog, learn common challenges that small businesses may face, along with tactical advice about how to fix them.
Delighting Customers
Customer satisfaction is always a priority but customer delight is even better. Unfortunately, as a small business, it can be tough to delight customers in the way they desire. A lack of employees or dedicated service teams to help customers can make it challenging to keep up and solve their issues. A lack of capital can make it challenging to create programs that customers enjoy, like loyalty programs.
How can that be fixed?
- Understand why your customers chose you and what they need
- Continue to measure satisfaction and improve the customer experience
- Innovate how you can provide unexpected extras that go above and beyond
When you understand your customers’ needs, expectations, and cater to their desires, it will pay off, as you will reduce customer churn and instead inspire loyalty.
Managing Workflow
With the right team you want to make sure they all have the tools and resources they need to do good work and do it effectively.
How do you focus on the business while ensuring that everyone working in the business has what they need? This is a common challenge for small businesses, especially as your business scales. The good news is that, when done right, it does pay off: marketing automation can bring more than 400% revenue increment.
Here are a few best ways to diagnose the roadblocks your team faces and increase efficiency by creating ways for them to provide feedback:
- Ensuring your direct reports implement one-on-one meetings with their direct reports
- Employee satisfaction surveys
- Finding the commonalities in the feedback you receive and the bottlenecks
Hiring Talented People
Hiring staff and attracting quality candidates is a big challenge. In addition, the cost of onboarding is troubling for those operating with smaller budgets. If you have high employee turnover, you’re spending more money hiring talent than you would like.
Here’s how to fix that:
- Don’t settle for good employees when you can find great ones, even if it takes longer. It’s the great employees that will help your company get to the next level.
- Take ownership of attracting candidates to your company’s brand and make them interested in learning more.
- Focusing on branding to help you attract top talent and it will pay off.
While these are just a few of the many business challenges facing small businesses every day, there are many others out there. Many of them can be planned for and mitigated with the proper planning and strategy.