As a teenager, always had a multiple business ideas more so we had dreams of starting our own business someday. However, due to lack of financial support or family pressure or demotivation from relatives at times, we stuck to the 9 – 5 job &made career as an employee.
When Corona Virus stuck and we were forced in a lockdown mode, unfortunately many people lost their jobs. The unemployment index is at all time high & the global economy is facing the worst form of recession most of us have ever experienced. Many business owners decided to shift to completely new line of business / were forced to work on their Plan B which means creating an alternate line of business to generate revenue.
More than a business idea, it takes a lot of efforts to kick start a new venture. A systematic & proper planning will ensure that the business will have a successful run.
Let us have a look at systematic and professional approach to run a successful business.
Create a Business Plan
“First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas & plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination” – Napolean Hill
The first step to start any business is to have a watertight business plan. An ideal business plan talks about the investment plan, product or service, Go-To-Market strategy, sales plan, resource planning and so on. Without a watertight business plan, the business will fail to take off, remain low profile which will hamper the business growth in the long run.
infinzi can help you create an ideal business plan & consult you on how to strategically implement the plan.
Identify the Right Product
“Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers” – Lee Lacoca
You need to identify the product or service which you want to sell. But before deciding on the product or service ensure that there is a demand for the product or service & the price point which you want to sell to your customers. You need to be well aware about the knowledge & technical specifications about the product or service as half knowledge is always very dangerous.
It would be a waste of your time, money & energy working behind selling an unproductive, inefficient, defective, expensive, inferior quality of product or service or selling the right product in the wrong market. You may get a flying start but poor customer reviews will ensure you will have to make a quick exit from the market.
The product or service need not necessarily be a physical item but your skill, knowledge, experience or expertise is also a potential product which you failed to unleash. You can be great at writing codes for software development, an expert accountant, a great orator, even a technician who knows to hit the hammer at the right place& more importantly at the right time.
Branding
“A brand is a voice and a product is a souvenir.” – Lisa Gansky
Deciding a brand name for your product or company which sounds catchy, easy to remember & match the specification of the product or service. The brand name has to be UNIQUE. You may need to create a website with your brand name and also trademark the brand in future. Check availability of domain name (www.godaddy.com) and Trademark Name (https://ipindiaonline.gov.in/tmrpublicsearch/frmmain.aspx).
Target Customer / Market
“There is only one winning strategy. It is to carefully define the target market & direct a superior offering to that target market.” – Philip Kotler
Also, you need to decide whether you are planning to sell your products or service in domestic or international market,online or offline. There are multiple ways where you can sell your products.
- Rent/ buy a shop
- Create an e-commerce website
- Tie-up with online aggregators i.e. Flipkart, Amazon, Swiggy, Zomato, etc.
- Sell via SMS / WhatsApp / Facebook / Instagram
- Create a sales plugin page like Instamojo
Create Website / Social Media Pages / Payment Integration
“A successful website does three things:It attracts the right kinds of visitors.Guides them to the main services or product you offer. Collect contact details for future ongoing relation.” – Anonymous
Providing regular information to your customers about your brand creates a long time impact on the mind of customer. You can choose to create a website and provide information to the customer which will also help you to sell your product online and will also help in Social Media Marketing.
It is also important to create your business page on Google Business, Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin. You can ask your customers, friends and relatives to follow these pages and keep posting updates and content for awareness.
Payment Integration – We are slowly and gradually moving towards digitization and many customers prefer to pay digitally rather than Cash on Delivery. The most commonly mode of payment are Paytm, Google Pay, Phone Pe & UPI payments. You can integrate the third party with your bank and the payment will directly hit your bank account once the customer makes the payment.
Marketing
“Marketing is really just about sharing your passion. – Michael Hyatt
It’s very important that you market your product / service. If the customers are unaware about your products / services you will not be able to scale your business. Generally, the business owner spends a lot of money today in social media marketing to create awareness about the brand.
- Create a website with information about your company, products & services offered. Ensure the website is SEO (Search Engine Optimization) friendly.
- Create a ‘Google My Business’ page with all information about your business.
- Provide a location on ‘Google Maps’ so that customers can use to locate your business.
- Create pages on social media platforms i.e. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.
- Do a professional photoshoot of your products & upload on website & social media.
- Convert your number to ‘Business Account’ on Whatsapp & keep sharing updates about your products or services either via broadcast message or WhatsApp Status.
- Hire an expert & start promoting SEO, SMO & Digital Marketing for your website. Create professional contents on regular basis & share the same on all social media platforms. Write a blog related to your business industry keeping the customers updated.
- Start Google AdWords wherein you can pay Google to publish your Ad on their search engine.
- Constantly pursue your customer for feedback.Ask them post a review on social media platforms, aggregator page or a Google review. Offer an incentive to customer if he is not happy with your product or service. Retain him at all cost.
- Attend seminars, workshops &exhibitions, create more awareness about your brand.
- Keep pamphlets, visiting cards, online presentations & brochure ready for distribution.
- Packaging of your product needs to be attractive, cost efficient defining your brand giving the brand a very high recall value.
Delivery
Don’t Deliver a Product, Deliver an Experience. – Anonymous
Deliver what you promise & most importantly, deliver on time. You created a product or service, market it well, now everything depends on the delivery of your product or the output of your service. If it’s a physical product, ensure the product is packed well and the customer is briefed at each step of delivery. If you are providing a service to your customer, keep him updated with the status of work on regular basis & don’t wait for Due date to ask questions& get queries solved. It is very important that the customer is briefed in advance, in case you foresee any delay in delivery.
After Sales / Client Relationship Management
“There is only one boss. The customer―& he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.”―Sam Walton
Give a call to your customer & take a feedback. You will have to create a relationship with your customer & want him to come back for future needs. Also, convince him to refer you to his friends, family & colleagues. Incentivize him in case there is any issue with the order and appreciate him if he refers your brand to someone. Offer him discounts on future orders. Get to know his personal side as well i.e. his birthdate, anniversary, child’s birthdate & ensure you send him wishes. Let him know that you exist & you care.
Back-end Management
“If you think Compliance is expensive – try Non-Compliance.” – Anonymous
As a business owner, you need to ensure that you keep innovating & introduce new products or services in the market. Your sales targets are met & you keep pushing your team to do better. Apart from the core functions, you need to ensure that important back-end functions of the business are not compromised as well.
The most important back-end functions of your business are listed below:
- Registrations &incorporation of your business in accordance with law of the land.
- Trademark, patent ©right to ensure your products or services are well protected.
- Accounting, book-keeping & review of the same on a periodic basis
- Tax compliances – payments &filing of returns.
- Admin accounting &audit support.
- Business Consulting – To keep you updated with current scenario & plan way forward.
- MIS Reports, Business Analytics & Dashboards.
- Accounts Receivables, aging reports, follow-ups, vendor management &accounts payable.
- Documentation management &office administration.
- Recruitment – hiring, interviews, scheduling, negotiations &offer Letter.
- HR Management – attendance, leaves, HR policies, letters, employee grievances, performance management, attrition, promotions, appraisals,fun at work &exit formalities.
- Payroll – salaries, PF, gratuity, pay slips, Form 16, loans &advances.
- Company Secretary – minutes of meetings, agenda, directors updates, ROC compliances.
- Website – development, modifications ®ular updates.
- Digital Marketing – SEO, SMM, Google Adwords, Google Analytics, content management.
