New business guide helps push sales and bring efficiency

Business Link has launched a new guide, Improving your Business Performance, aimed at helping businesses meet their goals and achieve success.

The publication focuses on the key business areas where changes can be made to improve performance:

• Get closer to your customers - Keeping customers front of mind when performing day-to-day activities can be hard. By developing an ongoing and shared database of customer contact and feedback, you ensure that get to know your customers and are able to plan act accordingly.

• Get closer to your suppliers - Every business is part of a network, consisting of customers and suppliers. Treat your suppliers as a resource, and develop a cooperative relationship that can enhance they way you work together. For example, you may want to develop a reorder system together to ensure streamlined stock flows.

• Make use of business partnerships - No business is an island. Partners can offer a way for business to gain support, access new business leads and accelerate growth. Take advantage of the opportunities your current relationships throw up.

• Do things right the first time - Businesses should not be afraid of quality management. It can help provide businesses with a clear focus, improve efficiency and improve cashflow. Quality management is simply about organising your systems so there is no room for mistakes.

• Follow your leader - The drive to improve the performance of any business has to come from the top. It is with good leadership that a company develops strong and lasting relationships between staff, customers and suppliers. Take a little time to look at your performance and see if there are areas you can work on.

Kim Fletcher, business advisor for Business Link Kent adds, “After the stress of starting-up a business, it is no wonder that business owners relax a little when their business shows no signs of failing. However, this is the best time to assess the situation and see where the business can build on its now solid foundations to improve efficiency and drive sales.”

For a free copy of either publication please visit DTI Publications, orr alternatively by contacting the Publications Orderline on 0845 015 0010. (Calls to this number are charged at local rate). You can also contact the Orderline by fax on 0845 015 0020, or minicom on 0845 015 0030.

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Posted May 12, 2006