Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
As 2023 races ahead, many small business owners are looking for solutions to help keep their businesses afloat and compete in an ever-changing business landscape. The challenge can be complex but not impossible. With the right strategies, small business owners can successfully navigate these uncertain times and grow stronger.
Small businesses are vital parts of our economy, but staying ahead of the competition can be difficult for even the most experienced entrepreneurs.
Related: 4 Trends All Small Business Owners Should Be Aware of in 2023
1. Know your business better than anybody else
As the world continues to evolve and new technologies emerge, businesses must keep up with the times and develop strategies that guarantee success in the coming years. The first strategy is about developing a strong foundation for your business. By understanding your market, setting clear goals and using an effective financial plan, you set yourself up for success.
Researching your competitors and understanding how their offerings compare to yours is essential to building a solid foundation. Knowing how they position themselves against the competition allows you to create an effective marketing strategy to attract customers. Additionally, setting clear goals allows you to measure progress over time. It also allows you to identify which areas need improvement or where additional resources should be allocated.
Finally, generating healthy cash flow is essential to any business growth and sustainability, and therefore you need to plan your upcoming year wisely in order to be aware of what your monthly and annual expenses are and how to maximize them.
2. Embrace the evolving technology to your advantage
In the modern business world, an effective technology plan is essential to succeed. I call it LTIEP: Leveraging Technology to Increase Efficiency and Productivity, which is critical to small business success in 2023. Companies, especially small businesses, can lower their costs by using technology while increasing efficiency and productivity. This strategy also enables businesses to take advantage of new opportunities that would otherwise be unavailable without technology.
Switching from paper processes to automated digital systems is an example of leveraging technology for increased efficiency and productivity. This reduces the time it takes for manual data entry, improves access to data across multiple locations, increases accuracy by eliminating human error, and provides instant access to valuable insights into customer behavior and trends. Furthermore, some automation processes can be set up with little or no coding experience so that any small business owner can implement this strategy in minutes.
Related: 6 Ways to Protect Your Small Business From Inflation Pressure
3. Money must be planned in the business world
As businesses today face unprecedented challenges, preparing for the future is essential. The third strategy focuses on financial planning. To ensure success over the next three years, it’s important to develop a plan to ensure your business can stay competitive and survive turbulent economic times.
The first step in this strategy is to create an accurate budget that considers all current and projected expenses, including taxes, payroll costs, rent/lease payments, insurance premiums, and utilities. There is no strict rule about it, but I suggest preparing an extra 15-20% of your calculated budget for unexpected expenses. It’s also important to consider any potential increases due to inflation or other external factors. Your budget should also include savings goals so you can build an emergency fund or invest in new equipment or technology as needed.
4. Leverage the customer-community method
Keeping up with the competition is necessary for small businesses in today’s dynamic business world. The fourth strategy focuses on cultivating customer loyalty through innovative customer service practices.
Small businesses should strive to invest in customer experience by forming an emotional connection with them. This can be done by offering personalized services, creating a sense of community, providing rewards for returning customers, focusing on communication and feedback, and responding promptly to inquiries or complaints. By recognizing and celebrating each customer’s unique needs and experiences, small businesses can quickly develop a loyal fanbase who will come back repeatedly because they feel valued as part of the business family. New entrepreneurs tend to underestimate this method, but you have no idea how effective it is and how it works like a charm.
Related: How to Inflation-Proof Your Small Business
5. It’s an ongoing game; play your best
The fifth essential strategy for small business success in 2023 is creating a culture of continuous improvement. Businesses must continuously improve their products, services and day-to-day operations. By creating a decent level of continuous improvement, businesses can quickly identify and eliminate problems while identifying growth opportunities.
This involves developing processes that measure progress towards goals such as customer satisfaction or cost savings and regularly reviewing them to ensure they are still effective. The old school believed this was crucial only for giant corporations, but nowadays, it’s clearly necessary for small companies, too. In addition, this strategy should include training employees on the importance of continuous improvement and providing feedback on how their work contributes to the company’s goals. As part of this strategy, businesses should actively seek out new technologies or processes that can help improve efficiency or profitability. Finally, staying current on industry trends will give businesses an edge over competitors who do not prioritize continuous improvements in their operations.
Small businesses face unprecedented challenges in the changing business landscape of 2023. However, with the above strategies, they can successfully navigate these uncertain times and emerge stronger than ever.
