5 signs you are running your business in a wrong way

If you are running a business, chances are that your biggest fear is whether you might be doing it in a wrong way. As the competition out there is getting smarter and more resourceful, it is only normal to be concerned about missing something important along the way that might cost your business.

But the good thing is that there are signs that can alert you before things get to this point, such as these five topics listed below:

You only hear your own opinions

business meeting

If everything you have done so far is solely based on what you think that is the right way, it is very likely that you are doing something wrong. It doesn’t matter how much you understand about your business, one mind is not enough to see all possible scenarios at the same time. And you should know that your intuition is just not enough to build a great product at all.

Plus, you have customers, and you might have a team. Your clients’ opinions are extremely valuable as they are the ones you want to make happy. So maybe you should consider that their concept of happiness might be very different from yours.

On the other side of the story, your team should also be entitled to an opinion. And not only to boost their confidence and to increase their loyalty to your company. But also, because they certainly know a lot about some aspects of your business that you aren’t in contact on a daily basis.

You aren’t keeping track of your results

tracking results

If you don’t have any idea of how much money you are making per month, what is your sales volume, if there is any profit, and what is your customer satisfaction score, you got a big problem in your hands.

It is quite common becoming overwhelmed by daily activities in such a way that you just don’t have the time to see the big picture. But it can lead to several failures and mistakes that you might only find out when it is too late.

And if it is really the case that you honestly don’t have the time to check reports (or even to create them), you should consider contracting or outsourcing an extra hand to support you on some not-so-essential tasks. Also, make good use of technology and try apps and online tools that can increase your productivity or get your statistics in order with just a few clicks.

You aren’t online or on any social media networksocial media icons

Except if you are a very small business based in a very small village offering your products or service only locally, some level of online presence is mandatory nowadays.

If you need a first-class website full of features, or a blog, or pages on Facebook, profiles on Twitter, etc, will depend on your goals, the nature of your business and how your clients find most helpful to communicate with you. But your business should be available on Google Search somehow if nothing else.

So, whether you are ignoring it because you prefer the old-fashioned way or because you have no clue of how to get it started, you should give it a try. It will increase the trust of your target audience in your business (just ask yourself how you feel about business when you can’t find it through an online search), and it will boost your sales and profits, as a consequence. You will also see how your social media presence can influence your business in a very positive way.

You don’t care about content marketing

content marketing

Ok, you do have a website, but you don’t really care about the content offered there. This is a sad reality especially among retailers who think that posting great images of their products is all that is necessary to attract clients.

But the truth is that your first challenge is to ensure that your website will show up on the first results of Google Search, as people hardly browse throughout the next pages. And, to achieve it, you will have to add value to your site – and this is all about great content.

Even though nobody knows for sure all the factors taken into account by Google algorithm, everybody agrees that fresh, reliable, original, and well-researched content helps their websites and blogs rank better on Google Search. That is to say, you should ensure the high quality of the content you are offering in order to build a strong online presence. And you can easily outsource your content writing to experienced companies so that you can feel more confident about the final result.

You have no idea of what your long-term goals are

set goals

Here is all about the future and how you are heading towards it. It is of no worth have a business if you don’t know what are your goals. Without them in mind, you won’t be sure in what to invest or how much save for rainy days. Goals keep you on track, helps you to focus and to use your resources in a more efficient way.

Your team will also feel unmotivated and maybe even worried about their careers if they don’t see the company growing in a well-planned way. So don’t underestimate the importance of setting long-term goals for your business.

Now that you have read it, have a good look at your business and check if any of these 5 signs is hanging anywhere near you. And if you find any, don’t panic, just fix them as quickly as possible, and see how your results will become much better to achieve. It might be even easier than you think!

Norman Arvidsson
 

Norman Arvidsson is a passionate writer at WriterSquad. He was born in Sweden but at the age of three moved to United States with his family. Familiar with such areas as web development and design, marketing, small business, and eLearning. Considers personal growth as the main goal in his life. You can contact him through his social media networks.