Here are 15 essential tips for small businesses to grow productivity. These tips have been tried and true for decades for a variety of business sizes. They will help your business operate more efficiently, save time, create more profit, and expand opportunity for growth. Use these tips and tricks to improve customer service, increase sales, provide better support, reduce waste, and grow your business faster. Let’s get started!
Make sure customers are satisfied: You need to stay in touch with your customers to ensure satisfaction. Ask for their feedback at any point during the buying process or upon receipt of products. Then follow-up with customers within a day or two to increase understanding and rebuild customer loyalty. Stay on top of the customer’s needs to avoid unhappy or dissatisfied customers, and always be proactive about making sure they are happy.
Keep it simple: Small businesses need to focus on one or two tasks at a time. Resist the temptation to add too many employees to a project. It may seem like a great idea, but too many employees can bog down a project. Instead, focus on a specific, important part of the customer’s experience and assign the task to one employee. This will save time and allow you to be more productive.
Communicate: A small business owner cannot afford to ignore his customers. Communicate with them, not with each other. The Internet, email, text messaging, and phone calls are a great way to keep in touch. Stay connected to your customers to improve your retention rates, and to avoid drop-offs and unhappy customers.
Invest in productivity tools: There are many ways to make work easier. A computer, a printer, a whiteboard, a toaster, and an e-mail are just a few productivity tools that can make a big difference. These tools can save you time, make your job more organized, and even help you break through the “red zone,” the area where productivity stalls due to excessive paperwork. Invest in your small business and invest in productivity today!
Treat your customer right: If your goal is to increase customer satisfaction, treat your customers well. Send out positive customer service comments, newsletters, and postcards. Offer to take on extra tasks, or offer a thank-you voucher for repeat business. Small businesses should never refuse to do what they need to do to maintain good customer service.
Invest in a good plan: In addition to having a good plan, make sure you follow it to a T. Be organized, prioritize tasks, and delegate responsibilities. Your plan will become a road map to your success. You can use your plan as a check list to keep yourself focused and on track. Also, keep track of your productivity statistics: Are you seeing increased productivity? Are you using technology to increase productivity?
Set aside time for yourself: Whether you’re working for yourself or with other small business owners, you have to set aside time for yourself. Make it a couple times a week for a “me” time. No phone calls, no emails, just you. It’s time to unwind and recharge your batteries. This time will help you tremendously if you ever decide to go on vacation or take a much needed getaway.
Get good management training: With the economy the way it is, you need to invest in your business by finding competent management training that helps you run your small business better. Small business owners need to understand that their success depends on how well they are managing their time, finances, and employees. Learning effective management skills will keep you on track and ensure that your small business grows.
Schedule time for fun: Even though your work life and business life are separate, small business owners must remember that there are times when they need to be apart from each other. Schedule some time for fun with family and friends. Even if you’re running your own business, sometimes you still have to spend time with the people you care about. It’s okay to take a few days off and enjoy the company of friends, but don’t neglect your obligations at work.
Get rid of distractions: distractions abound in every part of your day, even when you’re working. Learn to manage distractions so that you’re able to focus on your tasks. If you’re constantly being distracted, productivity won’t grow.