Four business practices necessary for successful SMEs

Running a small business can be time-consuming and daunting. In the myriad of tasks, it is easy to lose sight of basic business practices that will move your company forward. Trying to do everything and get everything right can be time consuming and exhausting. Although adjectives and goals may change, the following essential practices will make it more likely that your business will succeed.

Master your finances

This is a critical part of any entrepreneurs’ activities.  Starting and running a business will require you to take on many roles yourself; one of them would be the accountant role. Although it might not be exciting work, keeping your books in order is essential because

Regulations require you to keep your records in order, most notably for taxes. Some industries require stricter regulations, and so your operating license will hinge on this

Analyzing your financial records is essential to review the company’s progress and more importantly map out its strengths and weaknesses. 

Smart marketing

Marketing is a well-recognized and vital part of any business strategy.  Sadly, it doesn’t mean that everyone is doing it right. One of the things most entrepreneurs fail to grasp is that marketing is more than just sales and advertising. In essence, marketing is a constant flow of communication between the business and the customer with the ultimate goal of satisfying the needs of both parties. Some of the critical things your marketing strategy should have are;

Constant feedback from the customer; more substantial companies can carry out research and development project to gauge the market, a smaller company can still get feedback through one on one communication, simple online surveys and suggestion boxes. Feedback is essential because this is not only where you can garner customer mood, but you can also get fresh ideas for new products or services.

Informative and action-inspiring communication: this is where advertising, promotions, public relations, and branding comes into play. Your customers should have access to information about your product, and they should feel inspired to act on its message. Social media is not only a vast landscape of opportunities, but it is also a cost-effective way to reach new customers for SMEs.

Develop for a purpose: the product you sell has to be fit for purpose. It must do everything your customers need it to and especially everything you promised to your customers. Everything else falls apart if the product is not centred towards satisfying the customer.

The human element

An often underlooked aspect of most businesses it’s personal. Hiring the right people can either lift or drag your business. Your staff is a human resource. Whether you can extract from your business success that is beyond industry average depends on your team and your relationship with them. Your staff is the contact point with your customers, so it doesn’t matter what your intentions and beliefs are if your team doesn’t carry that through to the customer than it becomes pointless. Even if the business owner is the only employee, their attitude will be a massive factor in the customer’s experience. So your team has a significant impact on your productivity and customer satisfaction.

Grow

Many entrepreneurs lose sight of this. If your business is not growing, it is dying. From start-up to being a fully matured business, your strategy must always aim to increase the business, never let up. Growing your business could be in the form of:

Acquiring new customers; by hiring more salespeople or advertising 

Entering new markets; like going into a new geographic area

Releasing new products; expanding your product range and depth with unique designs or functions

Using more efficient production or processing methods; like using the Internet for marketing or using the latest technology to produce goods.

It is crucial that your business never remains stagnant or it could be caught off guard. Although there is a lot more to running a successful business, keeping the above in mind will give you a more sustainable business. Be financially disciplined, focus on the customer, hire great staff, and continuously move forward. 

Stay in the Loop with Export Portal

Export Portal is dedicated to helping SMEs grow and succeed on an international scale. Register with us today if you are looking to join the international trade world.