Key Points to Successful SME

5 Key Areas SME must focus on :-

The product or service that you offer
Many businesses get started because someone has an idea or a passion. Unfortunately not enough research is put into whether the product or service is viable and if there is a market for it. Passion is important in business, but if the idea just doesn't have legs, it's going to cause a lot of heartache. The product or service needs to be well researched to ensure it delivers a solution or benefit. Research, testing and improvement needs to be ongoing , as markets change rapidly.

Marketing and Selling
Once you've found a great product or service and you've identified a market, how do you let people know about it? There is no point in having a fantastic product or service if no one knows about it. If you can't convey your value proposition, the business will fail. You need to sell to your customer. You need to engage with them, listen to their needs and find ways to solve their problem. It is a long road from enquiry to closing a sale and it needs patient and trained salespeople. A good sales process can have a massive impact on revenue and getting top performers to share knowledge is vital.

Operations and Finance
Once you've made the sale, you have to deliver. There is a lot involved in delivering a product or service to the satisfaction of customers. Systems are the best way to ensure efficiency.

Then there is finance to consider. There are costs and overheads to pay, stock and jobs in progress to finance, debts to collect, equipment to be bought or financed, suppliers to pay, interest to financiers and the list goes on. Cash flow is one of the biggest issues for SMEs.

Customer service
"The customer is always right? If the customer is wrong, go back and read the first line"? Without happy customers - business will be a struggle. Constantly finding new customers is expensive. It's an often quoted point in customer service training, that a happy customer will tell two or three people, whilst an unhappy customer will tell around twenty.

Human Resources
Happy staff means happy customers. If you want staff to look after customers, you must look after the staff. I often hear that even big businesses rarely have reviews with staff and don't provide any mechanism for feedback. Staff, are your most valuable asset.

You probably spend time dealing with all five areas. The best way to grow your business is to surround yourself with people who understand and specialise in each. You can't be an expert in all five. If you try, you will wear yourself out and create an unhappy working environment. I've been very fortunate to be surrounded by a team, each has a focus on one of these areas. It has freed up mine and my business partner's time to focus on strategic management and growth. I can recommend this thinking. If you don't currently employ these people start looking for them or outsource to specialists.