5 Ways You Could Be Hurting Your Business
When you’re busy putting lots of time, money and effort into your business, you may think you’re doing everything you can to increase its success. Sometimes, though, your actions can harm your bottom line rather than help it. Here are five examples of activities that can cause a downturn in your business.
1. Rushing Through Research and Testing
Introducing a new product comes with protocols and responsibilities. Sometimes steps are missed, or errors are made, and a product ends up being recalled. Many brands, even popular ones like DoTerra, have had products recalled due to safety concerns.
It can be tough to handle the aftermath of a recall. Lost revenue and brand reputation are often at stake. To avoid these consequences, take a proactive approach as often as you can:
- Research product regulations and safety standards in your industry.
- Determine product specifications and requirements for your product.
- Conduct regular audits on your suppliers.
- Put quality control standards in place, checking at several points of the manufacturing process.
2. Targeting the Wrong Audience
You may spend a lot of time and marketing resources targeting your audience, but is it the best audience? There’s a chance that if your product or service is not doing as well as you projected, or if your site gets lots of visitors but few sales, you could be missing the best customers.
Try broadening your audience definition and see what results you get. You can even test your product in other areas to see how it’s received. Shifting or expanding your focus can make all the difference.
3. Growing Too Fast
Higher sales, more revenue, a larger audience — what could be wrong with that? If you’re growing too fast, though, problems can follow. Here are a few examples:
- If you need to hire more staff in a hurry, you could employ people who aren’t a good fit for your company.
- Your customer service could suffer as you try to fulfill orders or handle returns too quickly.
- You could decide to move your facility to a larger building and get stuck in a lease that is above your budget.
- Your cash flow could decrease as you try to keep up with increased demand, buy supplies, and hire workers.
If your product or service quality goes downhill, it can hit your bottom line as dissatisfied customers move elsewhere. Aim for steady, manageable growth that won’t overwhelm your business.
4. Spreading Your Company Too Thin
When you have lots of new ideas, it can be tempting to try multiple new products or services at once. This decision, however, can potentially spread you and your company thin. Too many irons in the fire can be hard to manage. It’s best to stick to a few products and services and focus on making them the best they can be. Build up their quality and help them gain a good reputation before moving on to another great product or two.
5. Ignoring Your Online Presence
These days, most prospective customers will seek out your business online before reaching out in another fashion. Because of that, it’s vital to keep your website updated. Consumers who see a static website could assume you have stopped paying attention to it or that maybe you’ve gone out of business.
If your products and prices don’t change often and you can’t think of ways to update your site, consider adding a blog. A blog can establish your company as an authority in your industry as you attract readers eager to learn about your product. A new blog post two or three times a month keeps your content fresh.
Your social media presence is essential, too. Even if you don’t post new content daily, make an effort to post at least a few times a month. You can do so much with social media: feature new products, hold giveaways, advertise sales and more.
If you’re concerned some of your actions can hurt your bottom line, consider these areas and see if you have room for improvement.
