New Customers Your Business example essay topic

OUTLINE: I. INTRODUCTION II. BUSINESS PLAN A. REASSESSING YOUR BUSINESS PLAN B. MAKE ANY NECESSARY REVISIONS. BUDGET / ADVERTISING IV. CUSTOMER SERVICE A. PAST CUSTOMER SERVICE B. LISTENING TO CUSTOMER COMMENTS C. OFFERING INCENTIVES TO CUSTOMERS V. DIVERSIFICATION A. CONSIDERING WHEN TO DIVERSIFY B. ADVERTISING STRATEGIES VI.

SAVING TIME AND MONEY A. COLLECTIONS B. BANKING RELATIONS C. CHANGES IN CLIENTELE D. KEEPING EMPLOYEES HAPPY VII. CONCLUSION In today's sluggish economy, many businesses are faced with some very hard decisions about the future of their companies. There are several factors to consider such as: business plans, budgets, customer service, and also saving money and time. In this paper I will attempt to address some concerns that warrant consideration for any company in this current economic situation. BUSINESS PLAN The first step is to determine if you should reconsider or revisit your existing business plan. One of the most important things that you can do during an economic downturn is to evaluate the current business plan.

After all, the business plan is the working base for your company. Is the business still on the current business plan, or have you strayed away from the original business plan? Should you write a new business plan? Should you reinforce the guidelines for the current business plan? These are some very hard-hitting but required questions that you must ask. Once you have answered these questions, what do you do next?

Sit down and examine the plan from the viewpoint of an investor looking to purchase the company and make any revisions that seem appropriate. BUDGET / ADVERTISING In a downturn one of the first places many business cut expenses are in advertising. This can be a real mistake, and here's why. As part of the philosophy of expanding your base and recruiting more customers, you need to advertise and sell more than ever. What better way to do that than to advertise more? As a competitor, you should know that other companies are not spending as many advertising dollars, and that is when you can really get your product out there.

People are looking for better ways to do business. If you have established strong customer satisfaction, this is the time to get the message out. CUSTOMER SERVICE The first step in reviewing customer service is to examine how much emphasis you placed on customer service in the past. Your loyal repeat customers are the lifelines of your business in any economic climate. In a downturn they are what keeps you in business. Spend time listening to your clients to hear what they like and do not like about the methodologies and systems in place.

Look into changing those that your customers do not like and that are not essential to the business model. Take time to be innovative in meeting your customer's needs. Perhaps taking the time to computerize customer information would allow you to more easily access their particular preferences and respond quickly to their needs. Perhaps taking time to call special clients to discuss how you could serve them better would be productive.

Do whatever you need to do to keep your current customers loyal and to position yourself to win new customers. Given that your customers are satisfied, they should want to do more business with you. Find out if there are ways you can grow the depth and breadth of the product lines you have been delivering. One way is by offering more products or services or fulfilling other needs that they have. Long-term relationships add to your security.

So, if you have happy customers, offer a discount to those who are willing to sign a long-term contract or who are willing to pay cash up front for a contracted set of services. Cash up front is particularly attractive because it makes you look good on paper and can allow you to lock in favorable financing from financial institutions. DIVERSIFICATION A downturn in the economy seems like a terrible time to diversify, doesn't it? However, there are opportunities out there to be taken. Given that you have done your homework in establishing yourself on a solid financial base, this is an opportune time to broaden your base. Diversification gives you more stability because a down market in one product may be compensated for by another product.

The tricky part is, of course, finding complementary products that face differing market challenges. You don't want to stretch your expertise by producing totally different products, yet you do want to target different types of markets so that softness in one may not be mirrored in the other. A simple example of a way to seek new opportunities is to establish an Internet business for a retail store. You have provided a new way to service your regular customers and expanded the audience you reach. It may be possible that you have been selling to a limited subgroup within the community and you can expand the appeal of your product to a wider audience.

For instance, you may be primarily selling to a specific age, ethnic, or gender group and with different advertising or a slight modification in the product, you can reach a broader spectrum of the population. Simple things like instructions in another language or wording advertising slightly differently can have a major impact in which new customers your business attracts. SAVING TIME AND MONEY Collections are a great place to start in tightening your belt. Not only do you need to be providing incentives to your customers to pay on time or even early, but you need an efficient collection system that gives you advance warning of problems as the develop. Similarly, you need to be paying your bills on time and taking advantage of every possible discount that you can. Pay particular attention to your banking relationships.

Keep in touch with your banker, apprising them of any company developments. If you face a tight situation, having your banker knowledgeable about the positives of you and your business will make them much more amenable to helping you through difficult times. Consider lowering your prices. You need to maintain your profitability, but you also need to retain your customers, but you may also attract others. Look for changes in psychology and behavior in your clientele.

They may be spending less or putting projects on hold. They may not be paying their bills as quickly. If you are in touch with your customers, you will be aware of differences in buying habits. Contact them before they contact you about what the problems are. You can gain a longtime relationship with a customer by approaching them proactively with the view of being there to help them through their own hard times. Economic downturns are scary times for employees.

Many firms cut personnel and add to the workload of the remaining employees. Involve them in cost cutting. Let them know that they are important to you and that you are committed to keeping them. If they know that they are perceived as an active part of the solution, they can identify sources of savings that never occurred to you. Find rewards that are not costly yet acknowledge their efforts. Creating many small individual victories lead to big victories for the company.

CONCLUSION There are many things that can help or hurt a company in an economic downturn. The suggestions discussed in this paper can work in any economic environment. Proper application of any of these techniques can add to overall gains in profitability and morale, thus making a solidly run business stand out. It means returning to the roots of your business and making certain that every one is healthy. All of these principles are worth revisiting at least annually, in good or bad times.

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