Helpful Business Tips:

Often all we need is a word, a phrase, an image or an experience and that's enough to trigger our next brilliant idea!

Strategy and Planning - Have a plan and know it intimately. Write it down and make it alive! Failing to plan is planning to fail.

Customers - Who's your ideal customer and get to know your existing ones, cater to them so they stay loyal and create an exceptional customer experience.

Finance - Understanding key financial drivers of a business is critical so arm yourself with the knowledge or outsource but make sure you have this covered.

Distribution systems - Plan how your customer will get your product with the least amount of effort for them and quickly

Marketing - Know your target customer and focus your marketing spend on this group and those that bring the biggest return.

Products and services - Understand you products and services well and how the affect your customer.

Pricing strategies - Know your products and understand their value to your customer. A simple pricing change can make a big difference to revenue.

People - Understand your most valuable asset and what drives your team. It's very important that your people are on the same page, understand the business vision, how they contribute and share the core values.

Performance - Measure performance so you can manage it. What are you KPI's?

Sales - Equip your sales team with knowledge, systems and tools to be the best sales people they can be.

Technology - Understand it and use it to drive efficiency, simplify process and continuous improvement

Personal development - Set goals for your business but also set goals for yourself. Be true to your values and enjoy what you do. Your business relies on your expanding knowledge and experience.

Understand customers are your business - Respect your customers, without them you have nothing. Your profit and the ability to run your business and pay your team comes from your customers.

Become a farmer not a hunter - It's not all about new business. Retain and service the customers you already have and aim to get more business from them. This is you cheapest growth option and can be easily overlooked!!

Focus on creating superior customer value - Understand value - Benefit is greater than the cost - make sure you have this equation right. Better value = easier customer choice.

Be fast and easy to do business with - Time and effort are bigger costs to customers than price.

Aim to create an inspirational customer experience - You want your customers to walk away so impressed with you, they want to tell others how great you are.

Walk in your customers' shoes - How would you expect to be treated as a customer? What kind of feedback would I expect - honestly?

Show you care - The biggest cause of bad customer experiences is business and people not caring. Listen and take action.

Have a can do, will do attitude - It's all about what you can do for your customers - then doing it. Can't doesn't feature!

Treat your customers politely and with respect - Every customer should be spoken to with respect. A polite greeting, please and thank you makes a difference. Take the time to look and listen.

Solve your customer's problems - Customers want results - not excuses or explanations - they really don't care "why" they just want the solution.

Go the extra mile - Impress your customers by solving that problem they wouldn't normally expect you to solve - maybe they didn't know they had them!!

Learn from your customers - You are learning all the time. Listen to your customers - their compliments, complaints, suggestions and questions are telling you all you need to know to help your business succeed.