Improving commercial bottomline in business.
We all want to maximise the business outcomes and there are stories of success and failures. I have compiled a list of ways in which the commercial bottom line of business can be improved which I am sharing.
More customers: To get more people to buy your product or services.
Increase your reach to customers: You need to ensure that customers are able to reach you or you are able to reach to your customers. At times physical or psychological barriers may be an obstacle, customers can’t see, touch or feel what you are selling or they have to cross a bridge to get to you.
Feting more referrals and word of mouth and acknowledging the source of referrals: During a research project my team members and I found that this ia perhaps most compelling of the ways to increase sales. Ensure those referring to you are passionate about what you have on offer. Commission on sales is not able to reach the same enthusiasm as a happy chirpy ex-customer.
Ensure your voice is heard on social media or newsletters; Need to write articles, publish in media or blogs, videos or webcasting is another way to reach to your prospects and tell your story. It is not the best story that always wins but a consistent and persistent story or a theme that will make impact.
Stop sounding desperate: I was looking at procuring an expensive painting for a business. The lady whose artwork it was and was also selling was sounding desperate. We could have paid a higher price and purchased but no, we walked out. We sometimes don’t value things which are easily available.
Learn to negotiate; This is an art as much as it is science. We often leave money on the table. Learn to negotiate with your customers to cause win win. It is not always about the price. You can add services to your product at a marginal cost
Charging customers more: Yes you can ask your customers to pay more however there needs to be reciprocity
Deliver more value: This will be one of they key reasons why customers will be willing to pay you more. I was looking at purchasing an online solution and found that there are four pricing options each of the options had something I might need in future. I kept nudging myself till I found myself at the highest price option.
Don’t try to please everyone. Think you are in a Casino, in the offerings there is something for everyone, not everything for everyone
Increasing profitability by innovation: You can improve your costs and find an alternate way of doing things. Sometimes you need to ensure your intellectual property is secured to prevent others from copying you
Understanding customer journey in the context of a brand till the conversion of prospect to customer. However this journey continues once the customer is engaged.
Improving processes: Process innovation can cut costs significantly. You can map customer journeys and then reduce the points of friction of your customers.
Running diagnostics on your existing business can identify significant roadblocks
Creating new products: New products are sometimes needed to show to customers a progress and better alignment to customer needs. It does not always have to be an entirely new product. Businesses keep repackaging their products and redesigning service offerings to ensure they are aligned to the customers. It also helps to spin off the offerings or spin in offerings.
Cutting costs: You cannot cut costs arbitrarily as it will significantly impact your bottom line and throw you out of business. However competing pressure may not leave any option. If you are encountering such issues you should always focus on
Improving products: changing product appearance
Readjusting pricing structure: sometimes same product repackaged will allow you to keep the cost structure same. Some known brands instead of cutting the cost of the food product they have reduced the size. So what you bought a decade ago is significantly smaller now.
Selling them more often: This simply means getting the customers in more often so either you have to go to your customers or ensure they get to you.
Creating a sense of urgency, exploding offers: Sometimes fear of missing out in conjunction with an offer too good to refuse does the trick.
Make yourself easy to buy by reducing the purchase friction: Understand your customers journey and ensure the friction is least.
Retain your customers: Once you acquire your customers do your best not to loose them, unless you sell funeral services. Jokes apart, your impeccable service, or outstanding will stand out to ensure your customer ( or the one making the decision to use your funeral services ) continues with you.
Make your customers look good: If customer is looking for an outcome or customer’s promotion depends on your work then it will help you. While a consultant with a global software vendor customers were willing to pay 60% more for my services as it helped them secure a promotion.
Offer them value: real value goes a long way ensure your product or service offers a lasting real value
Align your offer with their needs: You may have the best product or service on offer however it needs to be well aligned with your customers.
If possible do mass customisation. If your product or service is well aligned you can get into mass customisation. Think of going to a massage parlour. The service is simple - message but this is then segmented based on parts of body but depending on the needs of the person the parameters are changed ( more or less pressure applied and if it hurting after a sports injury a balm may be applied) . This strategy will not work for all businesses for example in case Shoes of Prey, not everyone was keen to customise their shoe.
Reducing your tax liabilities
Take advise from experts who know the field
Leveraging available grants
There are government grants available ensure you leverage them if there is a fit.
If you are able to uplift 10% across at least 5 of the above parameters, you can improve the bottom line by over 60%