5 Easy Business Improvement Ideas

Improving your business is no easy feat.

If you have a newer business, it can be difficult to know where to even start. Don’t worry, the same remains true for larger companies, who are so set in their ways they can’t see the wood for the trees.

That’s why we’ve put together five easy, small business improvement ideas that anyone can implement — large, small or somewhere in between!

5 business improvement ideas to implement today

We know the key to a successful business is people, whether it be customers or staff. Our business improvement ideas revolve around just that.

1. Build Your Customer Relationships

You should hopefully already know how important your customer relationships are to your business. Without them, you’ll struggle to make sales.

You can improve your customer relationships by really listening to your customers. Find out what exactly it is they need and want and do your very best to meet those needs. Build your product and service offerings around those needs.

You can find out what your customers’ thoughts and needs are with customer feedback surveys. Use this feedback to gain actionable insights into how you can improve your business.

2. Reward Loyalty

It’s estimated that finding a new customer costs up to five times more than selling to an existing customer. In fact, increasing your customer retention rates by just 5% can increase profits by 25%.

A simple way to improve your business is to actively reward customer loyalty. So many companies say they’re grateful for your business, but don’t show it.

Make customer loyalty a top priority for your company. You can do this by creating a loyalty program, giving customers early access to sales or with perks and rewards.

3. Offer Flexible and Remote Working

It goes without saying, not all businesses can do this. But those that can, should be.

We hate the myth that working from home will somehow magically make your staff less productive. In reality, studies have shown remote working can reduce stress levels for your employees and increase productivity. It can also considerably reduce your running costs.

It’s easy to see why really. No long rush hour commutes, no micromanaging and less distractions than a busy, sociable office.

If your business isn’t dependent on your employees physically being in the office, consider offering flexible remote working as an option.

4. Inspire Employees

With a 40-hour working week, it’s so easy for employees to feel burned out. In fact, a study showed that around two thirds of employees feel burned out fairly frequently. You might think it’s not your problem, but it is.

Burned out employees are less productive for your business. They’re also more likely to leave your business for greener pastures. This inevitably means you’ll lose great employees who could have helped your business thrive in the long-term.

There are plenty of different ways to inspire your employees. You can offer them flexible working arrangements like we mentioned above to show you value and trust them. You should also recognise good work wherever possible with a small bonus, gift or paid day off. But even a simple verbal or written recognition can work wonders.

Perhaps most importantly, you should be invested in your employees’ professional development. You can do this by offering training courses or sending your employees to seminars. Your business gets to reap the benefits of your employees’ progression while showing them you value their development.

5. Restructure Your Organisation

The best ideas often come from those on the frontlines. They know the day-to-day aspects of your business and the needs of your customers better than anyone.

Yet for some reason, so many businesses stick with the traditional hierarchical structure of businesses; where ideas flow from the top down.

If you’re feeling brave, and you should be, ditch the old school structure. Cultivate an environment where your employees are empowered to share their ideas, challenges and thoughts. Then actually listen to those ideas and implement them.

You can achieve this with a change management plan, and we can help.

The Awardaroo Approach

As we mentioned above, we believe the success of businesses lies with people.

We’re big advocates of throwing out the old, dated stereotypes of how a business should be run. Because we know to succeed nowadays, you need to become what we like to call a learning organisation. Learning organisations are companies that continuously transform, where every individual is empowered and inspired in a shared collective aspiration for the company.

We can help your business become one. Find out more about The Awardaroo Way here.