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5 TIPS TO BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS

It is every entrepreneur’s dream to build a strong and successful business.  In spite of all the enthusiasm exhibited by many start ups, the reality on the ground is that many businesses never grow to become truly successful with many of them being forced to close shop.  According to Bloomberg, 8 out of 10 businesses fail within the first 18 months.  With such grim statistics, it only right for a budding entrepreneur to arm themselves with the necessary tips and tricks to avert falling into the same pit hole.

The following are some tips that can help you forestall failure or stunted growth of your business.

  1. Be Crystal Clear on What You Want To Achieve

Have a clear vision for your business

Being clear on where you want to take you business is very important as it prevents you from unnecessary deviations and alterations of your business model.

While it is not entirely wrong to change your business direction for the better, it is important that the fundamental aspirations and dreams that you had at the onset remain true to your business operations.

A well thought out and written down vision statement will help your business stay the course even when the going gets tough.

Have an elaborate strategy and action plan

An elaborate business strategy is a roadmap that outlines how a business intends to achieve its objectives.  The strategy need not be too complicated or academic as this just serves to create lethargy.  A simple strategy that indicates where you are, where you want to get to and how to get there is sufficient.

Once the strategy is outlined, break it down into an action plan that outlines how the business objectives will be achieved.  The action plan should map out what needs to be done monthly, quarterly and annually.

  1. Provide a Solution

Have a marketable product/service

Having a good business idea is very different from having a marketable business idea.  What you may think the marketplace needs maybe very far from the reality on the ground.

Thus, conduct market research before diving into your business operations.  This will help you to establish the pain points that your target customers are experiencing and craft a solution to the same.

Failure to do this may result in your coming up with a very good product that does not meet the needs of the target market, which leads to poor or no sales.

  1. Make Marketing a Core Business Function

Marketing is the lifeline of any business.  Even the best of products and services need to be presented to the customers in order for any selling to take place.  As an entrepreneur, running away from the marketing function is not an option!

The following will help make your marketing efforts more effective:

Have a well spelt out marketing strategy

Develop a plan for creating awareness in the marketplace in order to influence your target market’s buying decision.  Your marketing strategy should outline among other things how your product launches and activations will take place, the time and budgetary allocation for such activities as well as the frequency of the same in a calendar year.

Leverage on the internet and social media

Every business that wants to be successful in the 21st century should have a digital presence regardless of the products or services it offers.  Justifiably, different types of businesses can leverage differently on the internet to market themselves.  The differentiation can be from the products or services your business offers or the age of your target market.  Regardless of this, e-commerce is the way to go now and you’re at a disadvantage if you choose to ignore this.

  1. Create a Customer Friendly Business Environment

Build a strong brand and culture

All successful enterprises have a defined way of doing things.  A business brand is the message that a business endeavors to communicate to its customers.  The brand message communicates to the customers what your business promises to give them as well as your unique value proposition.

I have had opportunities to consult for businesses that have re-branded and when I looked at their re-branding process, it was all about them and very little about their customers.  All the beautiful colors and stationery will be rendered useless if your brand promise does not resonate well with your customers and prospects.

A business derives its culture from a strong brand position.  Successful businesses build customer centric cultures such that all key decisions and actions are made with the customer in mind.

Develop an aligned team

People are the greatest resource in a business and greatly contribute to the brand and culture of the business.  A business owner should therefore choose his/her team wisely and diligently in order to ensure that they can deliver on the brand promise.

The team constitutes employees (full-time and part-time) as well as suppliers who also impact the customer experience.  Cheap is said to be expensive and this phrase is particularly true for the people one chooses to work with.

Your team should operate like disciplined soldiers matching to the direction of your vision. Remember, with the ever increasing competition, customers will rarely give you a second chance to make a good impression if you mess up the first time.

  1. Honor Your Customer

It’s well known in marketing circles that people do business with the people they know, like and trust.  Therefore, you need to build a good relationship with your customers if you want to build a strong and successful business.  The way you treat your customers directly influences their purchasing volumes and also enhances customer loyalty.

Establishing a good relationship with the customers can be done by consistently delivering on the agreed upon specifications.  It also pays to have a good follow up mechanism to ensure that the customer is not only satisfied but that their expectations are exceeded most of the time.

If your customers are not happy, they will take their dollars elsewhere.  As Sam Walton rightly put it, “There is only one boss, the customer.  And he can fire everybody in the company from the Chairman on down, simply by spending his money elsewhere.”

Our local customer service guru Sunny Bindra also coined it powerfully when he said, “Crown your customers and they will crown you back.”

Business success is a culmination of numerous activities.  However even with the best tips, many entrepreneurs find themselves stuck due to factors like analysis paralysis and the quest for perfectionism.  Such challenges have the potential to make you freeze on your tracks.

The only way to circumvent these debilitating factors is to take ACTION! The entrepreneurial journey is full of adventures, adrenaline rushes and failure.  The successful entrepreneurs in the world are those who go through the various cycles and keep moving forward.

Taking action on the above tips (even if you take baby steps) will help you navigate the entrepreneurial journey better.  Therefore, keep going no matter the challenges you face.  Or as Nike puts it  Just Do It!

To your greatness,

Lillian Macharia

Lilian Macharia is a seasoned business consultant and corporate trainer with over a decade of experience. Her expertise lies in helping businesses develop strategies that drive growth and profitability. As a consultant, she works closely with clients to understand their unique challenges and develop customized solutions to meet their specific needs. Her corporate training programs are designed to equip employees with the skills and knowledge necessary to excel in their roles and contribute to the overall success of the organization. Lilian is passionate about empowering businesses to achieve their goals, and her practical approach has helped countless clients achieve lasting success.