2009 has brought some unavoidable changes. Businesses have had to work smarter and be nimble just to survive.
But this change can be a good thing. It gives you a chance to re-evaluate every aspect of your business and start to work smarter.
Many companies have found they need to go back to the drawing board and work out what it is they actually offer to clients. For others it may be a process of analysing revenue streams and what aspects of the business are most profitable, then developing those streams or looking for additional opportunities in similar areas.
It’s a matter of cutting your cloth to fit; you may find, as many of our clients are, that print advertising work is down but digital is a growth area, and look to develop business further in this area.
Value-adds are one way to increase revenue from your existing clients without raising prices for existing services; something your clients may not appreciate when facing difficult times.
A tactic which has worked for many design businesses is offering retainer services, whereby they receive a monthly fee to pick up a range of projects along with smaller ad hoc pieces of work from a client. They offer a reduced rate in return, creating a guaranteed income stream while keeping the client happy.
Cutting costs can help the bottom line in the short-term, but inevitably will not help your company’s growth. Looking for ways to improve your business and innovate to meet changing business needs will bring you far better pay-back in the long term.
There are many ways in which change can be beneficial to your business once you embrace the opportunities it brings. Here are just some of the ways which you can use change in your favour:
- Return to the drawing board and rediscover the essence of your business
- Develop existing revenue streams with value adds
- Clean your house and get rid of dead weight
- Guarantee an income by offering retainer work
- Work smarter rather than harder using your existing resources
- Remove redundancies such as client over-servicing
- Cut your cloth to fit your most profitable business areas
So as the saying goes, fortune favours the brave. Be bold and embrace change as a way to build a better business.