FDIC-Insured – Backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government5 Questions for Your Business for the New Year
| Posted in Bank Blogs
The world of business is constantly evolving. Every year, new opportunities and challenges arise that can impact the success and future of your business. That brings up a very powerful question: Are you prepared for them?
Sure, it’s hard to take a step back and think about the future when you’re so busy meeting the daily demands of your customers. However, if you want your business to be successful this year and in the future, you need to do some planning. Here are some questions to help you:
- What is our value proposition? You have a business and customers, but do you know why your customers choose your business? The answer is your value proposition. It’s basically a statement that summarizes why your customers choose your products/services over those of your competition. To determine your unique value proposition, think about the problem you help solve for your customers and the benefits of what you offer.
- Who is your target audience? Your target audience is made up of the people who buy your product or service. You can learn about your target audience by looking at your customer base and sales to answer these key questions:
• What do they have in common?
• What do they buy from you?
• How and when do they buy from you?
• Where are they located?
• What are their demographics (age, income, income level, etc.)? - What are the strengths and weaknesses of your business? You can conduct a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis. Start by talking to your customers, salespeople, and customer service representatives. To determine opportunities and threats, research future trends in your industry and the competitive landscape.
- What are our short and long-term goals? Do you have specific goals for the new year and beyond to help improve your business? Some examples may include:
• Grow your business by 10% in the new year and 25% in 5 years
• Introduce a new product line
• Hire 2 new employees
• Increase your customer base
• Reduce calls to customer service by 10%
• Generate 10% more revenue from your existing customers
Once you establish your short- and long-term goals, prioritize them and create and document smaller tasks that can help you achieve them. Then, set specific milestones and track your progress. - How can we grow our business? If you’ve made a goal to grow your business, think about how you can accomplish it. Some ways you can achieve growth include:
• Cross-selling to your existing customers
• Boosting marketing efforts to customers and prospects
• Networking
• Expanding to new markets
• Creating referral and rewards programs
• Partnering with complementary businesses
Taking the time to answer these questions can help you gain powerful insights about your business and customers and get off to a great start for the new year and beyond.