Take a step back and map out your current communication process that includes the standard points of contact that someone might have with your business, from making an enquiry through to having an invoice followed up, continues Netto.
It’s important to ensure there are deliberate steps in place with templates and consistent standards, she says.
“Identify any roadblocks that make it hard for people to do business with you, or even make it difficult for people to give you more business,” Netto says.
“Also, look for any gaps in your communication and areas for improvement. For example, decide how many hours or days someone will have to wait receiving a response to an enquiry made through your website, and set a standard of what that response will include.”
Netto adds that lots of business opportunities are lost simply by ignoring customers after they have made a purchase. “By documenting your communication process, you can address any bottlenecks, missed opportunities and weak spots before your customers and potential customers experience them.”
A secret shopper experience could be valuable during the assessment process, she says.
Putting yourself in your customers’ shoes is the perfect way to identify what needs to be done in your business to improve it.
Stan Gordon, the CEO of Franchised Food Company, says business owners need to step away from their business for a day and see what it’s like to do business with your firm.
“Read over your website and marketing materials with fresh eyes, dine in your restaurant, call your phone number as someone else, test your email address and response time, Google yourself and walk through the customer entrance. Then, do the same for your competitors.”
Learn from this experience by listing areas you can improve on, he says.
“Decide what you can do to make the experience better, easier or more exciting,” Gordon says.
All the major Australian corporations do it via planning time away from the office or national sales meetings, so why shouldn’t your business?
A business retreat gives you and/or your team time to assess the year ahead and put plans in place to achieve your goals.
Professional organiser Karen Koedding of A Little Elf recommends booking an office off-site, or better still, a house in the mountains or down the coast for at least two full days. If you book an office in town, book a hotel to stay in overnight as well, so you’re thought pattern is different, she says.
“Bring all of those ideas you’ve had over the past year, those articles you never read, your financial reports showing results and details of your top clients and plan out your year.
“If possible, turn off the phone and the internet. Allow yourself to think, dream and plan. Do this at least twice a year,” she says.
This article first appeared on StartupSmart.
