No one said running a business would be easy and now you’re finding out the hard way how true that statement is. What happens though when you start to lose customers, even though you think you’re doing really well? There are some areas of the business that might be slipping in standards and it is having a direct effect on your business. Customers are fickle beasts and if you commit some of the following sins, they will leave you.
Proofreading
Some people don’t care about grammar – or simply can’t spot wrong grammar themselves – however for some people it is a deal breaker. Every single aspect of your business that requires you to have written words on it needs to be proofed to within an inch of its life. I for one would probably not use the service of a company if I spotted grammatical or spelling errors. It shows a company isn’t professional and doesn’t care about the upkeep of their image. Make sure you hire a crack team of proof-readers (or that guy you saw on Fiverr) to go over every detail.
Foreign Language
Not catering to foreign language customers is a sin, because the language you speak will only be a small portion of the world. Even English/American companies need to be aware that there are people who don’t speak English well – or at all – and they need all the help they can get. There is also the case of dealing with foreign companies in a productive way that will make you money. International customers and businesses are becoming more vital by the year, so for your own sake, don’t ignore them.
Employee Dissatisfaction
This is probably the biggest cause of secret losses your company will be facing. If you – or your management team – are rubbish at being bosses, then the employees aren’t going to work hard which will be seen most notably in your profits. Keeping employees happy is a very hard thing to get right as you can’t give them too much leeway, but you mustn’t ever treat them like slaves or that they owe you anything. You are paying them and that is the only reason they are there because they need to pay for their Netflix subscription.
Marketing
As your company grows, so too must your marketing expenditure. Creating a strong brand image which fosters loyalty is the key to a successful marketing campaign. Without this, people won’t know or care who you are. Work hard at it take all the advice and help the marketing agencies offer you to ensure your business continues to grow. A muddled brand image is a terrible sight to behold as it creates a direct correlation to the fall of interest by customers and their wallets.
Those are the four things that I would say are very important for CEOs and managers to keep on top of, because they are hard to gauge when they are failing, expect by noticing the profit margining changing.
