If you run a small business, there’s a lot you can learn from checking out the world’s biggest brands. There’s a reason some companies make it to the top of the pile, so it’s worth doing your research and looking for ways that you can improve your own business. Here are six things that small businesses can learn from big brands:
Focus on your employees
If you want long-term success, you need long-term employees. You can’t avoid some staff turnover, but you can dramatically reduce it. If people tend to move on from your company quickly, there might be something wrong. You need to provide a competitive salary, a great benefits package, and make it a happy place to work. Sure, work isn’t supposed to be non-stop fun, but if you make it enjoyable, employees will stick around.
Establish processes
All the biggest businesses have processes to make the business run as smoothly as possible. From payroll to customer service, you need to decide how you work. This also makes it easy for a new starter to pick up things quickly. For employees, there’s nothing more frustrating than an owner that doesn’t know what they want.
Know who you are
This comes down to being realistic about your brand, your market position, and your product. If you sell t-shirts, you don’t need marketing language about your brand changing the world. You need to know who you are as a brand and as a business.
Invest in technology
It’s more important than ever to stay up-to-date with technology. From communication apps like Slack to high-performance Macs for your design team, you need to invest in the right technology for your business. Employees will be turned off by out-of-date tech. Plus, you will struggle to keep up with competitors that invest in new tech. For example, an online casino can’t compete without the latest and best online slots available.
Listen to your customers
Big businesses focus heavily on customer research. That’s because the more you impress your customers, the more hard-earned cash they’re willing to spend. It’s one of the most basic rules of business, but it’s something a lot of small businesses miss out on. Even if you only have a handful of customers, you can still learn a lot by talking to them about your product or service. Customer research doesn’t have to be expensive either. It can simply be a conversation with a regular customer or a quick email sent out with an incentivized offer.
Take calculated risks
As a small business, it’s important to take calculated risks. You don’t want to stay stagnant and not grow as a business, but you also don’t want to risk everything on a new product idea. Calculated risks allow your business to grow naturally. You should have a budget for new products, innovation, and new marketing techniques. Without it, your business will stay the same until a competitor comes along and steals your customers. The biggest businesses in the world ensure that every risk they take is carefully calculated before jumping in with both feet. You should do the same.