Every small business struggles with efficiency from time to time, and this is quite natural on your way to success, but it can usually be overcome with hard work. Trying to become a famous brand, and trying to create a strong fellowship of customers can be quite demanding, both in aspects of time and, of course, money, and as a business owner, it is up to you to make all the necessary decisions and adjustments in order to make everything flow as smoothly as possible. Organizational skills are exceptionally important, as you are well aware that it is up to you to manage and lead all the individuals that are included in your business.
There are a number of techniques that can be used in order to increase the efficiency of your workers which you can use to both organize and inspire.
Choosing an Approach
You need to carefully decide about your approach to your work, and to your business, whether you want to be a distanced dictator or a good leader. Truth be told, there are some positive things that can be said about both of those approaches, but a leader will do much better in this day and age, and providing your workers with the much needed guidance can help them, and you yourself. Altrocentrism is quite popular as there are many benefits to that approach, the main one being that workers will feel motivated they’ll try as hard as they can, because they will feel that the success of the company is their own success as well. This shifts the priority from being paid, to being successful, meaning that the worker will feel like a much more important part of that complex machine, than just a simple cog.
Create a Rewarding System
A good motivation is the key to any business, and it is an excellent tool for boosting productivity and work capacity, and that can easily be achieved by creating some healthy competition between the workers. “Healthy” is the main word here, as you do not want your workers to start antagonizing each other, you just want to encourage them to give their best, and you want them to know that good work will be rewarded. A person who performs the best can get a coupon for a discount at the local restaurant, or a gift voucher of another kind, or it can be something simple or interesting. There is no reason why you cannot make an event that will bring the people that work together closer, so for example, the person who shows the best results, has to bring a cake to work. That kind of interesting event can even become a tradition, and bring much needed relaxation to your workspace.
Outsource When You Must
Outsourcing is when you hire another company to finish a certain task, or to offer a certain service for you, because you are either not able to offer it yourself because of your finances, or because your staff is simply not equipped for such requests. Outsourcing is a common strategy in the business world, and its popularity is on the increase, because you can simply offer something that you otherwise could not. Outsourcing can help your workers stay focused, as pressuring them to do something they are not comfortable with is simply not an efficient task. You can easily outsource anything, from the simplest graphical solutions, to more advanced business telephone systems or other equipment. This is a nice way of achieving great results, while not having to worry about it in the process.
Make Use of Social Networks
Social networks are an extremely important way of staying in contact with your customers, and it can even help you create new potential ones. One can easily forget the importance of happy customers, as they are usually the most important source of your income, and while you do not have to follow the motto “the customer is always right” as it is not always a good thing, you need to know that the customer must always feel appreciated. You can use social networks to post regular updates about your area of work, or about your new business offers or deals. Social networks are also a good way of having a more regular customer service, and it will show that you really care about them. This way, brand recognition will appear, and customers will be more inclined to do business with you, if you constantly update your social network profiles and if you are constantly trying to stay in contact. Just remember, what works for other, does not need to necessarily work for you, so don’t be afraid of having unique approaches to running your business.
Ivan Dimitrijevic is a founder of MyCity-Web and is an Online Marketing expert, entrepreneur and a family man, with a diverse set of skills. Ivan is also an experienced blogger, writing being one of his first passions, focused on effective strategies for small business growth, and he likes to share experiences with other entrepreneurs online.
