It may be a shock to discover that a whopping 90% of businesses will fail in their first year in the world of business. Some businesses are more likely to succeed than others, it is just a matter of knowing what consumers want from you. If you focus all your attention and energy on getting your startup off the ground then you will have more chances of succeeding. There are many different steps you can take to ensure that your business has the greatest chance of success on the market. Here are the suggestions that we recommend you keep in mind.
Marketing
It is important that you get marketing right the first time for your startup. It can be an expensive and messy time if you get anything wrong. A lot of new businesses think that the largest portion of their budget needs to go on marketing. This is not always necessary and it can be done fairly quickly, easily, and with a small percentage of your budget. Using different marketing techniques means that your business will get more attention from different clientele. A lot of people use search engines to find businesses these days so you need to make sure that you have a big SEO campaign behind you. You can use a marketing company to help you get everything right from the get go.
Chat software
If you are looking for another way to save money within your business then consider using a live chat function on your website. There are many benefits to using a service like this, one being that you save money on needing a huge customer service team. It also means that customers get instant attention and answers to questions that they may have straight away. You will need to fill in any FAQs that get asked so the chatbot knows what to say. If there are any issues then you should have someone on hand to chat to the customers when they request it.
It has been proven that customers prefer live chat functions to calling or emailing companies. This could be due to anxieties they have about speaking to people, however it could also be due to them needing a reply straight away. Customers are more likely to buy from a business with a live chat feature. Another benefit of a live chat system is that it will make your business website far easier to navigate. This will help you avoid customers getting lost on the way to completing a sale.
Hiring The Right Team
When it comes to your business and your business being run efficiently it is always down to you and your team. If you hire the wrong people then your business can quickly see losses and downfalls. Another issue when it comes to hiring the wrong people is that you may not be hitting your business targets in a timely manner.
Hiring the right people takes time and effort on your part but it can be done right the first time. You need to ensure that the advertisement goes to the right places and not just generic sites where everyone looks and applies. If you get everyone applying then you run the risk of getting it wrong and hiring someone simply because they need a job, not because they want to work for your company. You could always hire someone to create the job advert for you so you get all the correct information. A decent job advertisement will state all necessary skills and specs that the ideal person will need to have.
Consider Freelancers
The economy has taken a beating due to Covid-19 and funds may be tight right now due to fighting to stay afloat during the many lockdowns that have happened. If this is the case then why not consider using the services of freelancers to help you finish jobs and tasks that need to be completed on a deadline.
Using freelancers is a great way to stay flexible with your business, it is a fantastic way at keeping costs low. The reason for this being that you don’t have to pay a salaried worker and don’t have to offer bonuses as they are working freelancer rather than working for you. Another key benefit is that you can expand or reduce your team as needed with very little fallout. This means that you can quickly adapt to any changes that happen in the market.
Home Or Away
Something you will have to consider at some point during your startup journey is if you want to be located in an office block or work from home. With the latest goings on with COVID-19 a lot of businesses have chosen to work remotely. This has worked for some, however it has meant that many others have struggled and had to close due to lack of stability and customers. If you do decide to work from home then you will need to make sure your marketing and advertising stays on top form so you still get a high amount of customers buying from you.
It might be more financially viable for you to work from home, it saves you extra outgoings such as rent, storage units, and extra employees. If you want to offer your workers flexibility you could offer both options. Some may prefer to work in an office due to productivity and having everything available and others may prefer working from home. If you do decide to do this then you will need to make sure you have an amazing cloud server so everyone can keep in touch and know how the business is doing.
Finding Your USP
As a newly started business it is vital that you stand out from the crowd, especially if there are other businesses similar to yours. They may be better known on the market so you will have to do something or offer something to get noticed by customers. If you can think of the right unique selling proposition or USP for short then you will be well on your way to gaining new customers. Having the right USP means that customers will come to you before considering anyone else on the market. A USP can be anything from a product you offer to amazing customer service.
Dealing With Employee Churn
You may have heard of the dreaded employee churn. This happens when employees are not happy working for your company. If you get it right from the start then you will see less people leaving and more people wanting to join your company. You never want to be the business associated with people constantly leaving. If this happens within your business then you should find out what is going wrong and attempt to fix it as soon as possible before everyone decides to leave. It could be due to stress at work or even at home, it could also be due to workplace bullying or harassment. You need to tackle these issues head on and show your staff that you have zero tolerance for that sort of behavior.
Another reason for a higher than average churn rate could be due to employees feeling like they aren’t getting anywhere in their current position. People don’t want to work the same job forever, they want to be able to climb the career ladder and earn promotions. Think about what further opportunities you can offer them, even training to help them along a bit.
If you are wondering how to support your employees then there are many ways to do this. If you think some of your employees are struggling a bit with their mental health then rather than judging them and potentially firing them, why not try and offer them some helpful support and guidance.
Outsourcing
Within your business it may be much more friendly on your budget to outsource some of your tasks and jobs. Outsourcing saves you hiring someone full time for a job that may not need someone working on it. Take an accountant for example, you don’t need to have the numbers looked at everyday so this is something that can be outsourced. It will save you having employed someone on a salary that you have to pay, it will also save the hassle of someone sitting around bored in the office as they have nothing to do. If you do choose to outsource some of your jobs then make sure you use a reputable person for this, be sure to check out credentials before sending stuff their way.
We hope this helps you understand some of the key ways that you can guarantee you hit the nail on the head with your new business. If you take the right steps here, then you can make sure that you win over existing and new customers and see high levels of success in your first year on the market. You can also avoid some of the common pitfalls that new business owners tend to fall into and struggle to get out of.
