If you’re looking for better ways to boost business efficiency, then that’s exactly what you’ll learn in today’s post. For instance, use technology to automate processes that involve repetitive actions that don’t require human powers. Instead, focus on those actions most critical for customer satisfaction. You can also boost business efficiency by working smarter, not harder. Today, we’ll share 5 tactics you can start using tomorrow to boost business efficiency.
5 Ways to boost business efficiency
Business efficiency deals with doing more with less, not necessarily doing it effectively. For our discussion, I think it’s important to only discuss tactics to boost business efficiency that are also effective in reaching your goals. Without effectiveness, you shouldn’t use the tactic at all, regardless of its efficiency.
Boosting efficiency requires more than installing productivity apps and implementing new methodologies. It’s a continuous effort that demands constant optimization.
So, building on the shoulders of great sources such as Entrepreneur and Forbes, let’s get started.
1. Automate certain processes
There are certain processes you can automate to use time more effectively, reduce employee boredom and mistakes, and ensure processes are done on schedule. Here are some business functions you might consider automating:
- Remembering routine maintenance is important but easily slips through the cracks resulting in downtime for repairs or failure. Also, monitoring equipment performance is better accomplished using a device that continually monitors performance and sends notifications when a human needs to be involved. While this may not seem to involve marketing, stockouts caused by these inefficiencies cause customer dissatisfaction, switching, and poor reputations that directly impact market performance.
- If you run marketing campaigns you have a lot of automation options. You can set emails to automatically go out when they get the most clicks, send out social media posts to ensure you post on an optimal schedule, and automate targeted and retargeted advertising.
- Chatbots are a great tool for automating customer support. These little AI-enabled tools never take a day off and answer routine questions 24/7.
- Automate sales flows and lead generation efforts to maintain contact with prospects between sales calls.
- Of course, these are only a few examples related to marketing, you can automate many other processes depending on the type of business you run. Here is a complete guide to business process automation.
There are plenty of Business Solutions To Improve Companies Efficiencies designed for specific industries and areas. Whether you’re looking to streamline sales, recruitment, or leadership, you can find the right solution for your business. It’s worth investing in specialist software that helps your business run more efficiently as this not only saves you time and money, in the long run, allows you to also make a better impression on your clients.
2. Time management
Businesses waste an incredible amount of time on things like meetings that don’t contribute to performance (my university has the same meeting every couple of months, discusses the same issues, sets out an agenda for improvement, then promptly forgets about it until the next meeting). And, it’s not just in my office. Findings from a recent study show that 37% of employee time is spent on unnecessary meetings; costing businesses $37 billion per year [source].
Using project management tools helps alleviate these unnecessary meetings while moving projects along more smoothly and completing tasks on time. Tools like Slack offer a one-stop communication hub that reduces meetings while still keeping everyone up-to-date on the project.
To boost business efficiency, you need to give your staff the tools they need to be efficient. It’s also essential to improve communication and collaboration. Consider using some of the best communication tools for businesses listed in this post. It’s important to introduce a culture of communication, both between colleagues and with customers, as well. Provide multiple channels for potential customers to get in touch so you can boost business efficiency by helping your solve problems without the common back-and-forth involved in situations with poor communication.
3. Provide superior service quality
If you want to spread positive word of mouth to spread about your business, you need to improve the efficiency of your customer service. Not only does positive word of mouth translate into a short sales cycle and improve efficiency in your prospecting activities, good (or great) customer service helps retain the customers you already have. Since it’s 5 times more costly to replace an existing customer, good quality service helps boost business efficiency.
Here are some strategies to improve perceptions of customer service:
- Perform a service audit to assess weak links in your delivery or opportunities for improvement.
- Train employees to recognize their impact on service quality and reward efforts to deliver great service.
- Always take the time to respond to customer correspondence and provide support up until and including after-sales support.
- Send a personalized follow-up email or include a hand-written note to your customers to thank them for their purchase. A little thank you goes a long way.
- Find out how they’re getting on with your product after a few weeks then use this as an opportunity to generate repeat business or referrals. You can automate these emails as well and streamline the entire process.
4. Work remotely
While you don’t boost business efficiency by working remotely, you reduce stress on your workforce, especially the stress caused by the time needed to commute and the associated traffic problems. By reducing the over 29 billion hours workers spend commuting, businesses saw productivity climb 13%.
5. Use the cloud
The cloud allows you to share communications across your entire network so every employee has information at their fingertips regardless of where they work. You never lose a piece of paper and, because you can search the cloud, you never spend hours searching for the right document.
By using cloud storage, you reduce the need to re-enter information; potentially introducing mistakes. losing information, or missing a necessary action. For instance, EDI (electronic data interchange) connects buyers and sellers so orders instantly move between them, automating the process of fulfilling the order and making (or receiving) payment without a human being involved in the process. ECR (efficient consumer response) in grocery stores using the checkout to automatically reorder stock sold during the day and ensuring the store shelves stay stocked.
Conclusion
There are many ways to boost business efficiency and these are just 5 of the biggest efficiency tactics you should use. I’d love to hear from you if you have your own experience increasing the efficiency of your operation. Simply enter your insights in the comments below.
Need marketing help to support business growth?
We welcome the opportunity to show you how we can make your marketing SIZZLE with our data-driven, results-oriented marketing strategies. Sign up for our FREE newsletter, get our FREE guide to creating an awesome website, or contact us for more information on hiring us.
Hausman and Associates, the publisher of MKT Maven, is a full-service marketing agency operating at the intersection of marketing and digital media. Check out our full range of services.
