9 rules for a successful business

 

A successful business is a sequence of correct decisions. Thinking about what to do, aspiring entrepreneurs often trip up their own business. In this article, we tell you how to avoid common mistakes and succeed in business.

1. Learn to Delegate 

A business that rests on one person cannot be scaled: no entrepreneur can be able to do everything. Delegation doesn't mean losing control - hire people you trust and let them do their job. If it seems that there is not a single professional around, reconsider the approach to finding personnel.

2. Analyze and plan 

Let's say you want to sell yoga mats in a city where the only yoga center has recently closed. You decided that people like to practice at home, but it turned out that no one likes yoga as a form of physical activity, and no one needs mats. To prevent this from happening, study the market and find out as much as possible about the chosen niche. Pay attention to the offers of competitors, ask for quotes from 10-15 suppliers and draw up at least a sketchy business plan. Instead of relying on assumptions, rely on numbers to pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of your product relative to the market.

3. Understand your target audience 

Ignorance of the target audience and its behavior leads to the most ridiculous and offensive mistakes. For example, it is because of them that advertising of premium cars appears in the subway and at public transport stops. Without a portrait of the target audience, it is difficult to choose the right promotion channel and build a sales model that matches the usual consumer behavior. By understanding the audience, you will be able to address the client directly and present a product that will solve their problem - and will be really needed.

4. Use strong marketing tools 

An inattentive attitude to marketing tools leads to the fact that the budget is spent, and the costs do not pay off. An ill-conceived sales funnel (the customer’s journey from getting to know the product to buying), advertising on social networks without audience segmentation - and now you are selling to the wrong people. Marketing tools help to attract the most relevant audience only if the initial parameters are set correctly. It is also naive to turn to marketing agencies for a guarantee of a sales boom. Agencies are able to provide traffic, but they are not responsible for the quality of the product and the actual uniqueness of the sales offer - this is the task of the company itself.

5. Use different sales methods 

Watch how famous brands like McDonalds or Wildberries work. The cafe offers a dessert to go with a drink, and on the site, a dress placed in the basket is accompanied by a fashionable belt. This is a cross-selling method that allows you to sell more. And if in a shoe store instead of a model made of artificial leather you are offered more expensive natural shoes, this is up-sales - sales aimed at increasing the average bill. Take care of the customer and sell him products that he did not have time to think about using different sales techniques.

6. Take care of old clients 

In pursuit of new customers, do not forget about the old, more loyal audience, which is easier to decide on a purchase. Holding it will require fewer resources than attracting a new one, and it will have a positive effect on sales. Analyze the portrait of a loyal consumer - this will provide an opportunity to expand coverage through users similar to him in behavior.

7. Try something new 

Even the most stable and recognizable companies from time to time decide to rebrand and try to surprise the client, refresh the perception of products. Business requires readiness for change: from firing an inefficient employee who has been working since the company was founded, to experimental mailing. Say “yes” to social media, latest hardware, and out-of-the-box techniques to keep up with the competition. If you don’t understand something, find a person who will tell you or take it upon yourself.

8. Don't skimp on everything 

The desire to minimize costs is understandable, especially in the early stages of business development. But out of economy, you should not rent a room with a leaky roof, buy used equipment, refuse expert advice and hire interns and relatives without experience in the field instead of professionals. Office, employees, equipment - all these are resources without which there will be no business. If the quality of these resources leaves much to be desired, the result will be the same.

9. Don't neglect the formalities 

Paid for the purchase of office equipment in cash and did not take a check? Have you downloaded a standard lease agreement for non-residential premises from the Internet? Didn't get a receipt? What seems to be empty formalities are often important legal nuances, the observance of which is mandatory for individual entrepreneurs and organizations.