We are well into the year now going beyond the halfway point. Before we know it, Christmas will be here. However, you may be thinking that just getting to this stage of the year that you have nothing to review or look back on, but that doesn’t mean to say that for the next few months ahead before we hit the new year, you can’t make positive changes to your business. Re-evaluating your business strategies, what has worked, and perhaps what happens is essential. This can then help you to gain clarity on what you might need to do moving forward. With that in mind, here are some of the areas anyone of you can look at in your business, and hopefully it can provide you with good evidence to set more realistic goals and targets for the year ahead.
Think about your marketing campaigns
One of the big areas for any business is their marketing ventures so now is the ideal time to look back over the past year and see what changes could be made. One of the first things to concentrate on would be what worked well for your business. Did any advertising ventures bring in more sales than others? Did you significantly grow your social media audiences and subsequently saw an increase in clicks onto your website? What campaigns brought in the customers and which ones weren’t well received? Sometimes in this area, it might be worth looking back and seeing what could be improved. You may also want to be specific, especially if you are a business that is a managed service provider. Sales funnels and generating leads can be a two way street, and this is when this MSP Website could be a step in the right direction. Trying new approaches with your marketing and generating sales leads where you don’t feel harassed can be such a positive for your MSP, or any business for that matter.
How much did you business grow in the last 6 months
Every business owner and entrepreneur wants their business to grow, and so now would be the ideal time to see how you started out this year and subsequently how you are going to end it. You might want to look back on your accounts to see a difference in the profit and loss reports to work out how far your business has come in the last six months compared to last years figures. You might want to consult sales figures as well. This could help determine if certain products and services are doing better than others and where you might need to focus your marketing activities in the future.
Could you make some significant improvements to your website and digital presence
You might want to take the time to look at how your business is seen online and physically. However, these days having a more digital focus can be beneficial. So you might want to think about looking at your website and analysing the demographics as well as seeing how your domain authority and google ranking is. This is when you might want to think about the SEO you have in place and whether you can improve some of the keywords in the copy on your website.
Do you need to rethink your outsourcing needs
Many companies take advantage of outsourcing for different departments, but, there is always a cost element to consider with this, so now would be the ideal time to review what services you still need to outsource and what could now be taken in house. On the flip side you could also think about if there are any areas where you could benefit from outsourcing your needs. Often, you feel stretched with all the tasks that need to be completed within your business, so it would be idea to re-evaluate where you stand on it all.
How has your staff turnover been?
You may have had great half year results wise, but often paying close attention to what is going on in the office could help you make better choices and decisions in the coming six months. One area is your staff turnover. Many business owners don’t realise that hiring staff continuously can cost money, so it is ideal to hire right the first time round. Take a look at your current staffing levels and make some changes if needed.
Making realistic goals for the year ahead
Finally, now would be the ideal time to address any goals you set earlier this year and make some wise decisions on what you would like to set moving forward. Having analysed your business thoroughly you can make good decisions on what targets and goals to set for the next few months. Making it realistic and able to track your business growth, which should enable you to move the business forward.
Let’s hope this helps you to finish the year in style.
