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Cyber Security
We have all seen the horror stories about ransomware attacks on M&S, the Co-op, and others this year, but it is not just big businesses that are being targeted. Cybercrime is big business, and the perpetrators are sophisticated. Protecting your business from cyber crime should be at the top of any to do list, including staff training to make them aware of phishing and other attacks, ensuring your IT infrastructure meets the highest Cyber Essentials and Cyber essentials Plus requirements, ensuring IT hardware, including mobile phones, are up to date and fully protected with ant-virus, updating disaster recovery and resiliency plans, looking at your on-site infrastructure and servers and potentially moving to the cloud and considering Cyber insurance should all be issues you are constantly considering.
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Be an Employer of Choice
Attracting and retaining the best staff is crucial for business success and will become increasingly important as competition for skilled workers intensifies. Ensure you are a business that people actively want to work for. Are you meeting the needs of your employees, and are your employees happy and productive? If, as an employer, you are not dedicating significant time and resources to managing your staff, then you might be doing something wrong. Make sure staff have the right remuneration and benefits, the right training and development opportunities, the right roles and responsibilities, the right organisational structure, and the right recruitment practices. Keep your employees happy, and they will, in turn, keep your clients and customers happy. If your clients and customers are happy, then your business should grow.
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Network With Your Peers
Research shows that the most valued support business owners and leaders receive is from peer networking. Businesses all face the same issues and challenges, so the best learning opportunities come from speaking to others who have been there and done it. Sharing experiences is one of the most effective ways to learn more about running a successful business. We are rarely trying to do things that haven’t been done before, so seeking out advice and building peer relationships is the most cost-effective way of giving yourself access to valuable support and experience you can draw on when you most need it.
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Figure Out New Technology
New technologies are the thing that is most likely to make your business obsolete one day. Sadly, not all of us are Steve Jobs. Increase the technological literacy of your workforce, invest in basic technology skills and encourage your employees to embrace and understand new technologies. Ensure you stay aware of how rapidly changing technologies are emerging and how your competitors are adopting them. Finding the right risk path for adopting new technology is important; not everything will work, but incremental improvements focused on productivity gains or improving employee and customer experiences are crucial to staying at the forfront of your industry.
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Understand Your Demographics
We all know that the UK population is ageing, but there are many more ways in which the demographics of your customer base may be changing. 10 years ago, there were a large number of people in their 50s. If you were selling Ferraris, you probably had your best sales ever. The proportion of the population currently around 50 is the lowest it has ever been. So, if you’re wondering why sales are down, that’s probably your answer. People’s spending patterns change as they go through life, but we are also seeing changes to long-term trends. People in their 20s typically start borrowing and spending as they become independent consumers. However, there is now evidence that with increased student debt and economic uncertainty, people in their 20s are saving more and spending less. As people have families, reach peak earnings, and retire, their spending priorities change. If your business is dependent on certain demographics, you may want to consider how you can attract new demographics with new services or products to maximise your potential customer base.
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Get Your Pricing Right
Getting your pricing right is one of the most difficult decisions businesses are facing at the moment. Do you increase pricing to maintain margin but reduce volume? Finding the sweet spot of margin versus volume is as crucial now as it has ever been. Having a clear value proposition for your customers and clients is critical to success and being able to communicate and sell that value proposition clearly. Every business needs to ensure pricing reflects the true value to the consumer or client while maintaining profitability. Client loyalty and retention are important factors in understanding your strategic pricing model. Pricing is probably the one thing that keeps you awake at night, so it’s essential that you get it right.
