RODA marketing

3 Basic Business Principles To Make 2016 Your Best Year Yet

If you own a business, or help someone else run their business, you probably have an obvious, consistent goal: make each year better than the year before.

Of course, in addition to that one obvious, consistent goal, business owners like you likely have other “smaller” goals to help them continue to grow and expand.

As 2015 quickly comes to an end, it’s time to look ahead to 2016 to figure out how you can best prepare for your greatest year of business yet.

Many articles, similar to this one, will focus on the newest social media trends and how to take advantage of them. Or, people will write about predictions of “what is to come” and how to ready your business for these advancements.

While these are all worthwhile conversations to have and are quality topics to discuss, they’re not the type of business goals we would suggest you focus on going into 2016.

How did two brothers, with no previous business experience, start a marketing company that continues to experience growth year after year, for the last five years?

We stick to the basics.

We know what works and we apply that to every area of our business that we can.

To help you grow your business in 2016, below you will find a list that we trust you will find useful.

 

TOP 3 GOALS YOU NEED TO FOCUS ON FOR YOUR BUSINESS IN 2016.

 

  1. OVER DELIVER

No matter what business you are in, you always have an opportunity to OVER DELIVER to your customer.

Sell candy online? Throw in a freebie with each order.

Are you a massage therapist? Let your client know you’re spending an extra 5-10 minutes on them because you care.

Your customers, who are every day people, like to know they are appreciated. So, every time they choose you for your product or service, do everything in your power to give them more than they’re expecting.

When people are surprised in a good way, they’re more likely to go out and share your information with friends and family because they know you’ll take care of their loved ones too.

Very few businesses thrive by being stingy and cutting corners.

The best businesses in the world understand that their customers mean everything to their business, and they do everything they can, at every turn, to totally satisfy and impress them.

By going above and beyond the call of duty in 2016, you can make it your best year yet. Simply look for little (or big) ways to add even more value to your customers’ lives.

 

  1. TEAM

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One of our favorite books is “Good To Great” by Jim Collins. We loved the book so much we created a version of Cliff Notes on it – click here to access the cliff notes.

In the book, he talks about the important elements that allow some companies to make the jump from good to great.

One of those important elements is getting the right people onto your team.

His theory is you should hire people who fit your culture, share your vision and are ready to lock arms and move forward towards progress and success.

Building a GREAT team requires the right people being on board because the smartest, best problem solvers in the world do your business no good if they’re not committed to your cause and vision.

Once you have a quality product or service in place, the next element of running a successful business requires you to have a stellar team in place to deliver that product or service to your customers, day after day.

2016 can be your best year yet; you just need a team who also believes this statement to be true and who is willing to do what is needed on a daily basis to make this happen.

 

  1. SYSTEMS & PROCESSES

The phrase “systems and processes” can mean one thing to one person, and a totally different thing to another person.

When it comes to building a successful business that is poised and ready for growth, you absolutely need strong systems and processes in place.

For example, a new client signs up for your service – what is your process to take care of them and make them feel special?

Do you call them a day before their appointment to remind them? Do you have homemade snacks at your front desk for people to munch on while waiting? When a happy customer is ready to leave, do you ask for reviews and referrals?

Or, someone purchases something from your website – what is your process to turn them into repeat buyers and lifelong, happy customers?

Did you get their email address, so you can send discounts and offers to them once a month? Did you put a freebie in their shipment, along with a note that says “thank you for your business”? Did you follow up with them to make sure they enjoyed your product?

Chances are, you do unique things inside your business. Chances are also that you do some things in your business over and over.

Make templates for the things you do over and over, so you’re not spending excessive time writing the same email 10x per day.

To make 2016 your best year yet, take a close look at your business and its inner workings to determine where you can streamline certain aspects via a defined process.

When you have systems and processes in place, it becomes much easier to process more business, which means help more people and make more money.

 

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There are plenty of articles out that will teach you how to implement the latest Facebook marketing techniques, or how to close more deals with better sales tactics.

While they all have their place and we believe in those types of business growth goals too, we firmly believe in “getting back to the basics” when it comes to sustained business growth, year after year.

Being a great business is not about the flashiest website, the most likes on FB, or the most photos posted to Instagram.

Being a great business is about having a solid foundation thanks to a dedicated team and smooth systems and processes that allow for expansion.

And of course, being a great business is also made easier when you OVER DELIVER to your customers every time.

If you think we missed a key element to make your 2016 better than your 2015, please share in the comments below. We would love to hear from you and learn from you.

Go out and make 2016 your best year yet – now is the time to plan for that to happen.

 

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