3 Things All Service Based Business Must Know
There are a lot of things business owners need to know in order to run and maintain a successful business. Businesses based on services are a little different than product based businesses and since I am a service based coach and strategist, we are going to focus on service based businesses for now.
Serviced based businesses really need to know these 3 things to prevent the chaos:
1. You need to have a system in place to help manage your business.
You could be the most honest, hardworking, and likeable person but if you don’t make it easy for others to interact with you or provide service, you may find yourself losing customers because of it. And yes, this includes you. There’s nothing more annoying to customers than when they can’t get in touch with you or get their questions answered quickly and easily.
Creating a system is not only helpful for the customer but also helps your business stay organized and avoid chaos at all costs. I once had one client who was so disorganized that they were in danger of losing their business. They had so many clients who they needed to call back, so many open orders to fill, and they had no terms of service. Putting a system in place helped them track each client and create a feasible timeline for the service to be completed without interruption from other clients trying to book them.
2. Your customer buying experience is crucial (Standard Operating Procedures)
Your customers are coming to you for something specific. That means that your customer buying experience is crucial. The consistency of the experience you provide with it is crucial.
Your SOP's should be set up in a manner that allows you to guide every customer along a set path without deviations. If you can't do this in your business, start with a few simple processes and add more as needed.
Some things you need to make sure your SOP’s cover:
-Answering all questions related to the services sold;
-The customer buying environment;
-How long each process should take;
-Who is responsible for what processes, and when they should be done.
* If you want to learn more about SOP's and how you can get started, I wrote a blog about it here https://www.thesantanacollective.com/post/do-you-really-need-sop-s-for-your-business
3. You have to be willing to unlearn what you think you know so that you can learn what you need to know about running your business.
This may seem counterintuitive but it's key in maintaining a successful business. Even the most efficient business will have to adapt as times change, especially service based businesses. The key is being able to adapt quickly and understand why you need to adapt so that your business can remain efficient.
Companies that succeed today have to learn how to grow, then focus on ways that they could streamline their business process so they won't become inefficient. This includes everything from tracking sales to making sure their SOP's are followed and continuously improving.
So there you have it! Three things that all service-based businesses should know. I hope this helps your business grow into something better - without the stress of chaos!
If your current process hasn't been working and your business has you stressed out, go to my website and schedule a call with me. I would be happy to help you get things on track and turn your nightmare into a dream!
https://www.thesantanacollective.com/