11 Ways Your Business Can be Destroyed
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Your business can be destroyed in numerous ways, and some of them are pretty easy traps to fall into. Others can also take a long time to fix when they happen, and a lot of remedial work is required. However, most begin and end with company culture, ethics, and understanding of the industry. For example, poor customer service is one of the worst that customers hate. But even fighting between board members or co-owners can all but destroy a business from the inside.
A Poor Reputation
Reputation is everything in business, and it's a wonder how some companies survive, given their terrible reputation. However, these are mostly multi-billion dollar companies that can withstand losing some customers. As a smaller business, you may not be able to weather that storm. Beginning with the top, CEO reputation management services can help you get in front of any potential issues. And rebranding is a key strategy that works well after an incident happens.
Terrible Customer Service
Customer service is often overlooked. But it remains one of the key features of any reputable business. If you cannot afford to hire an expensive customer care team, outsourcing is always an option to avoid some of the key issues people have, which often include the following:
Having to wait on hold for a long time for minor issues that can be fixed easily.
Products are always unavailable or out of stock after being advertised.
Poor attitudes from customer service employees who don't seem to care.
Most customers won't use a business again after a poor customer service experience. Just being on hold can cause a customer to leave your line and never return to your service again.
Your Business Can be Destroyed by Ego
Business leaders and CEOs can often seem unapproachable and out of reach of employees. But why should this be the case for them? They are employees of the company, just like anyone else. Working with all departments will help keep CEOs and executives in line with day-to-day operations. This is crucial for a business to work efficiently, yet one survey found that only 66% of business leaders feel they are aligned with the rest of the company's employees.
A Computer or Network Disaster
We live in an interconnected world today, with a strong reliance on technology, computers, and networks. Even the smallest business will use an IT system. Therefore, one of the worst things that can happen to your business is an IT disaster. This can occur from power cuts, employee mistakes, and, of course, cyber threats. Having a good backup system in place can help. Employee training on new systems and outsourcing IT to a managed service are optimal.
Not Marketing Your Brand Well
With so much competition these days, marketing has never been as crucial as it is today. This is mainly because smaller businesses or even sole traders can become a threat. The prevalent nature of digital assets, AI, and social media are a massive help to any modern business. So you must keep up with the competition via a marketing strategy. At the least, this should include a solid SEO, PPC, and social media campaign that includes high customer engagement.
Poor Understanding of the Competition
One of the biggest threats to any company is its competition. And no matter your sector, industry, or niche, there is always competition. Misunderstanding this can be disastrous. However, it is fairly simple to get a foothold on yours and begin making a plan of action:
Speak to your and their customers and compare what they say about each brand.
Talk to suppliers to see if they can offer competitive deals on steady items.
Arrange discussions with your competition about the state of your sector.
Make time to attend industry trade shows and conferences in your sector.
Use available online tools to research your competition and how they work.
Set up similar social media and online campaigns to attract a market share.
Pay close attention to the people your competitors hire in key positions.
A crucial step that is often overlooked is simply speaking to customers. This can be done in numerous ways, such as surveys, online polls, and just asking when they are in-store. However, it also doesn't hurt to watch the competition closely and realign your business in a similar way.
Not Innovating Enough
One of the key factors in keeping a business alive and profitable is innovation. If you don't innovate, you can bet everything you own that the competition will. And you risk becoming irrelevant and obsolete when this happens. Just look at what happened to Blockbuster after refusing a deal with Netflix. There are always changes, no matter the sector. Innovation covers technological changes, changing customer attitudes, and coming up with new ideas.
Poor Supplier Diversity
Not being able to source materials or products from a supplier can be a nightmare. Supply chain issues are largely unpredictable for most sectors and can happen at any time. But customers don't care about this. All they want is their favorite products. Of course, you don't have any control over this either. However, you can offset losses and retain customers by sourcing from different suppliers. You may not have the same products, but alternatives can help customers.
Your Business Can be Destroyed by Employees
Hiring the wrong people can become a costly mistake. When it comes to money alone, a bad hire can cost you up to three times more than the initial salary to replace. A small business can struggle with this kind of financial problem. But things can also get much worse. Using unqualified or inexperienced staff can cause issues other than financial.
For example, an employee can cause serious injury to someone else while using unfamiliar equipment, and if that’s the case, they might need to get some help from a website like this where you can find expert legal help for any issue that might arise. As a business owner, it’s wise to have this kind of help on hand, just in case something goes wrong and you can ensure everyone and everything is covered.
Board and Co-Owner In-Fighting
Boardroom brawls are uncommon, thankfully. But they do happen, and unrest at the top level can filter down to the rest of the company and cause serious problems. Of course, your opinions may differ, but it always helps to nip board arguments in the bud before they get worse:
Don't take issues at the board level personally, as all are interested in the company.
Remember, it doesn't matter who was right or wrong; it's just what to do moving on.
Always try to unravel an argument as soon as is humanly possible to avoid issues.
Board and co-owner harmony results in a smoother operation and increased profits. Placing blame often gets you nowhere, and running a company is a shared responsibility. Always try to work together to come to agreements about how the business needs to be run moving on.
Setting Hard-to-Reach Goals
Goals are vital in business as they provide direction. A business plan should contain your goals and how to get there. Remember, a goal without a plan is simply a dream. However, it's also best to remember that goals must be achievable. Making goals that are too hard to reach only causes stress from the top level down. As an owner or manager, you will become stressed by not reaching goals. And your employees will feel the pressure of having to work towards them.
Summary
Creating a great reputation for your company is a great start, or your business can be destroyed in the court of public opinion. Rebranding and CEO management are a good start. However, you can also face business issues if you don't research the competition, which you are always going to have. Goals are also vital, no matter your sector. Without clearly defined and achievable goals, a business can begin to buckle under the stress from the top level down.