The term "Business" applies to people for without them, business can't exist. Sir Isaac Newton's third law states that "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction" and whilst he envisaged that for motion, it's no less applicable in business. This coronavirus is simply not acceptable as an excuse for business to fail, solutions always exist and it's a matter of recognising them.
No business can hope to succeed if the person at the helm loses sight of their objectives so the starting point is for them to create a business strategy that's constantly reviewed because business is so fluid. They should know and understand that it's not about what resources are available but rather how well available resources are employed. It's also important to recognise that established businesses aren't going to let go of their market share easily and if they're in a growth phase they're hungry to reduce their competition in one form or another. If new businesses is careless enough or ignorant of the issues at play which includes this pandemic and get caught in the fray, they too could become a victim so research is not only understanding the customer but also the perceived risks, competition and suppliers. When there's turmoil in an industry, victims abound.
Technology companies pride themselves as being "Disruptors" and there's no doubt that they do and that they generally improve the lives of those enjoying their technologies. What they don't shout from the pulpit is the destruction they frequently leave in their wake although pale by comparison with the coronavirus.
Another thing to understand is that a new business isn't a competitor to those established in the market, they're generally considered an irritant until they can demonstrate their ability to take from established businesses at a rate that causes discomfort. There exist two options to the small business owner. Either establish themselves through stealth which is the route of least resistance and growth is slower or set aside concerns and get into battle dress. The latter has the greatest risk but can also have the greatest rewards in the shortest possible time frame.
The established business sector knows from experience that there will be a multitude of irritants over time and that the overwhelming majority will fail and never become competitors. These irritants are going to disrupt prices, over promise on services, run into cashflow difficulties and suffer product availability issues. They're likely to make many poor decisions for which they will pay dearly and they will rarely take the time to understand their competition or enjoy support from suppliers. Customers will move to try new businesses however they will quickly return to safe grounds if there's a hint that they're at risk which is often misdiagnosed with blame being apportioned incorrectly by the new venture through lack of knowledge and experience.
Typical examples are that new business can afford to be cheaper but that's not always true if one factors in overheads versus turnover. They often claim better service which is achievable if they don't grow. Growth changes performance. Many new businesses don't understand that additional resource whether human or machinery can be both favourable and unfavourable at the same time. A favourable gain doesn't imply that it didn't come at a cost. Growth has to be funded which can only come from profits and borrowings so price gouging will hurt at some time in the future whether we measure in days or years. The established businesses will always use their influence with suppliers to minimise the effects of those attempting to enter their markets along with other tactics to retain and gain back lost business.
The only material advantage that a new business holds is its ability to change strategy at a moment's notice, steal opportunities when they present themselves and they can reach quicker and deeper into their immediate market through personal relationships. The larger an enterprise the further removed management gets from its customer, not because they don't care but because circumstances demand they focus on other things to drive their business. This is where small businesses can secure a strong foothold to their market and overcome the biggest hurdle that they will face, "Being Seen" in their local market.
Looking back at a 30-year journey and growing from an irritant to a well-established contractor, one of the many lessons that's been learnt is the importance of being seen. It's all well and good to have a tremendous product backed by passionate people dedicated to giving the best service but without being seen in the market place there won't be customers or transactions. Being seen can be expensive and is probably the one activity where money dissolves without leaving a trace of its benefit. To this end, BuzzApex has developed a free business platform to give businesses the help they need in their local market.
Buzzapex is in use today and has been for the past four years singularly for the use of controlling assets, quoting work and job cards with quality controls built in. There are many other features but the exciting component now added are catalogues. It's so new that readers here could be amongst the first in their market to exploit this web-based platform to be seen by the over 5,000 businesses already on the platform. It's not known precisely how many users log in each day however the database at the time of writing shows that there are potentially 11,900 user accounts to view your products and services.
The list of tools provided by Buzzapex to help the business community is extensive and dynamic so each business should start the process by publishing its free catalogue to its immediate market. Additional inexpensive catalogues can be created and published for those who can afford more, but they're not compulsory as the free catalogue has no time restrictions. Indicate whether credit facilities are available, try before you buy or lay-bys are on offer and the terms by which they're granted. If you're comfortable publishing prices then do so knowing that you're inviting competition and comparative shopping. Possibly encourage users to place their orders through this platform if you're able to support that service, especially in the current times with the coronavirus. Customers want to collect or have delivered products with the least exposure to others so be a smart business leader and give the market what it wants.
Later, once you have confidence with supplier catalogues, encourage suppliers to appoint your business as a distributor in your market area where you know you can achieve market saturation on behalf of the supplier and use their catalogues to build quotes for release to your customers. It's an automated process so your supplier saves the costs to take your call and you save time and money obtaining prices from suppliers in real time.
Capture company assets and where applicable set maintenance intervals and quality standards. In so doing, the same data can be used as an asset register and to give comprehensive information to insurers or brokers as the case may be. As the business expands and more people are added, manage their performance through the many features with particular reference to pending quotes because each and everyone is a potential sale.
Track job cards and ensure that every job is being invoiced if you're a contractor or record expenses incurred if work is being conducted in-house. Again, most of these features are so automated that it's a few clicks of a mouse with the occasional visits to the keyboard once the initial data has been captured. Every piece of paper no longer required is time-saved, resource and environmentally friendly. Time and resources saved are far better served by redirecting them to the customer and sales. It's only through sales that a business can exist and flourish and it's sales that must always be in the forefront of a business strategy irrespective of whether it's a product or a service.
Once the business has established itself in the local market, then it needs to be able to research expansion into other markets and again this is an incredibly expensive exercise because school fees will be paid for issues not considered in the decision-making process. Again, BuzzApex has the potential to provide a platform to this end because catalogues are location-based and it's as simple as changing location to see what's happening in other market areas by product, by brand and by services.
No business can afford to squander the opportunity to reduce operating costs and increase productivity so take the time to visit BuzzApex and decide for yourself if it belongs in your business strategy.