10 Alarming Business Growth Killers You Must Know - And How To Overcome Them.
Israel Onyemaenu
Product Designer | Digital Marketer | Creating Innovations Without Borders
Bad customer service arises from being insensitive to the customer and refusing to give them listening ears.
It also arises when a company does not have structures in place to get feedback from the customer or delays in responding to customer complaints.
The worst of them is talking to customers without courtesy and being unthankful each time they patronize your brand.
As simple as it is, the word “THANK YOU” can say a lot about your brand that would make customers either come back for more or look for alternatives.
One of the easiest ways to kill a business is to treat the customer with disdain and contempt.
Doing this will create a double tragedy for your business;
1.They will look for another competitor to get their job done.
2.They will discourage other people from patronizing your brand.
SOLUTION:
Hire employees who care about the customer and are intentional about helping them solve their problems.
2. INCONSISTENCY!
Inconsistency arises when a company or brand does not have clearly spelt out goals and working schedules to achieve its goals.
As simple as it seems, not having clearly defined goals is one of the greatest contributor to inconsistency.
By goals we are referring to SMART goals:
SOLUTION:
• Nothing beats the discipline of creating a well thought out working schedule and keeping to it!
• If possible have accountability partners who will hold you responsible to stick to you decision.
3. WEAK LEADERSHIP
Weak leadership describes a situation where the decision making hierarchy of a business does not have a clearly defined vision and does not take initiatives to drive business growth.
It also refers to leaders who cannot manage people effectively.
SOLUTION:
Have a clearly defined vision to give direction to the company.
Effectively motivate working staff to feel like co-owners of the business.
Develop strategies and have the courage to make needed changes as the business evolves.
4. FLYING BLIND
Flying blind is the tendency to start out a business adventure without proper planning and a well defined business development plan.
This error could readily be the precursor of early death for any business.
SOLUTION:
Create a well structured Business development plan which should include things such as:
5. UNDEFINED BUSINESS BUDGETS
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Undefined budgets can be likened to sailing a boat on the ocean without a paddle.
The problem with working without a budget is that there will be no guide as regards how to manage the complexity that comes with uncertainty while running the day-to-day activities needed to keep a business afloat.
It won’t take long for a company to be out of business if it cannot account for its financial activities.
SOLUTION:
6. IGNORING THE COMPETITION
Not knowing your competitors or knowing what they do is a major recipe to get sent out of business soon.
To stay cutting edge in your business niche you cannot afford to let your competitors dictate the pace in your business niche, allowing this to happen will keep you always at the mercy of their decisions – which is bad for business.
SOLUTION:
7. OVER-INVESTING IN YOUR SMALL BUSINESS MUCH TOO EARLY
It is common place for young entrepreneurs to act on emotional impulse while starting their business adventure – the common line of action I was once guilty of is this:
This is a rough idea of how many start-ups jump into business and eventually fall into the trap of early death due to overinvesting much too early in the business.
SOLUTION:
STOP ACTING ONLY BASED ON EMOTIONAL IMPULSE!
Instead sit down with your business mentors – preferably people who have a lot more experience in your field of specialization, show them the picture of what is going on in your business.
Don’t be afraid to open up to them even if the truth about what you did feels embarrassing!
Own up to your mistakes if necessary, your mentors might be able to help you correct some lapses and if possible secure more funding and cut down on unnecessary expenses that could lead to early business death.
8. BEING PENNY WISE
Starting out a business and running it like you want to please your grandma to demonstrate how frugal you are is an early recipe for business failure!
While it is good to bargain right to get the best deals, it is a very bad culture to make it a habit to only seek out cheapest deals while running your business.
Especially when it comes to handling human capital, if you think you can get the best talents by being frugal, be rest assured you would be competing with your competitors for your best talents if they offer them better deals.
SOLUTION:
3 Strategic solutions you can use to your advantage:
9. THINKING ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS A RELIGION
Many people like the idea of owning their business and being in control of what they do with their time – they relish the title of CEO or being a successful entrepreneur.
Some even see entrepreneurship from the point of view of their religious mindset, hoping things work out without putting in the hard-work.
The harsh reality is that most business owners who have such unrealistic mindset are courting disaster and may not survive the harsh environment of running a business in a highly competitive world.
SOLUTION:
10. FAILING TO LEARN ABOUT CUSTOMERS
This is a very subtle neglect on the part of many business owners who make up assumptions with regard to customer’s needs.
Without doing due diligence to learn about customers, you may fall into the trap of hoping customers will buy your products or services.
Taking the effort to speak to customers in person or via virtual forms and collecting relevant data regarding their wants and desires could really lead to required sales needed to keep a business growing steadily.
SOLUTION: