As part of a continuation of our How to Build a Better Business blog series, we’re covering the questions to ask when taking the first step in analyzing performance: assessing core activities.
A good starting point for an overall business review is to evaluate what you actually do: your core activities and the services you provide, what makes them successful, how they could be improved, and possible new or complementary products or services. Asking these questions can help:
- How effectively are you matching your goods and services to your customers’ needs? If you’re not quite sure what those needs are, consider carrying out further market or customer analysis.
- Which of your products and services are succeeding? Which aren’t performing as planned? Pinpoint which products and services offer both a high percentage of sales and high profit margins.
- What’s really behind the problems of a product or service that isn’t doing well? Consider pricing, marketing, sales and after-sales service, design, packaging, and systems.
- Are you reviewing costs frequently? Are you keeping a close eye on direct costs, overheads, and assets? Are there different ways of doing things or new materials you could use to lower your costs? Consider ways to negotiate better deals with suppliers.
Next up, we’ll be discussing how to assess business efficiency. Stay tuned!
This information was gathered from Info Entrepreneurs, a team of business information experts from the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, part of the Canada Business Network.
Image: Stuart Miles