Are you a woman who has just started out in business? Chances are that you’re going to have to spend a lot more time managing your business along with providing your core services — and managing your new business could get challenging especially when you are busy focusing on marketing and going about doing your day-to-day tasks.
When you’re trying to juggle a lot of things, sometimes the best tips can be the simplest and most helpful. Here are some practical business tips to boost your workflow:
- Maintain Quality Control
This applies to you if you are in the business of selling a product or service. If you are supplying or selling a product ensure that you keep track of your inventory each day and eliminate anything that could leave a customer unsatisfied — by focusing on your best products you can manage inventory better and get increased customer satisfaction. If you are providing a service, it’s best if you get customer feedback after completion of a service which can help you improve your quality.
- Build Customer Relations
One major factor in building good customer relationships is to take their feedback seriously. Attempt to do your best to accommodate the customer and make them happy again in case of any dissatisfaction. This is the key to retain customers and acquire new ones through word of mouth publicity.
- Use Networking and Referrals to Your Advantage
Once you have impressed your customer with your product ingenuity or outstanding service don’t stop there. It’s now time to go the extra mile. Ask them for referrals or put in a review on your website or on your LinkedIn profile. Also, invite them to networking events where they can introduce you to someonewho could be a prospect for a new customer.
- Form a Community or Advisory Group
One of the most beneficial and distinguishing factors for women business owners is that they maintain formal as well as informal advisory groups. Working with other business owners and learning the current trends and strategies that are successful can go a long way in setting your business apart from the competitors. Advisory groups can offer a different perspective in managing finances, marketing strategies, managing vendors and more.
WBEC-West’s CEO Ambassador program is an excellent example of this.
- Leverage Technology
Being a women business owner leveraging current technology trends as well as social media will help you increase your customer base dramatically. Software applications for money management and new tools for managing a business can increase both efficiency as well as the productivity of your business. If you are a social media junkie, start using Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to get the word out regarding your business.
- Use Contract Workers
Many women business owners think about growth but like most businesses face economic hurdles, health-care insurance issues and related taxes when it comes to hiring full-time staff. Instead of hiring full-time workers you can start off by hiring contract workers. This can give you the benefit of hiring good talented people without a long-term commitment or investment.