Avoidable Business Mistakes

The world of business is often costlier than calculated, but that doesn't mean it can't be avoided. 

Mistakes happen whether you're starting up in the market or well established. From an unstable business plan to lapse in judgment to excessive expenditure. Because most businesses commit at least some of these, let's focus on the easiest to avoid and most culpable ones. Why not learn from these mistakes instead of making the same ones yourself?

One time customer/ Ignoring existing customers base 

The majority of businesses run primarily on one-off sales -- a nonviable business practice after all the focus, efforts, and money spent on driving traffic. And if at all, your priority is actually to expand the customer base or get people to at least give one-shot, rethink. 

Acquiring new customers comes at an expense that evidence suggests is 5 to 7 times the same as reselling to the current ones. According to research by Frederick Reichheld of Bain & Company, increasing customer retention rates by 5% can increase profits by up to 95%.

These statistics call attention to Customer Retention. Once done the hard work of getting a customer on board, make sure to keep them! After all, how do you expect any business to grow if you can't strengthen the existing base? This isn't to say one shouldn't market to new customers, which is a must, of course. But these statistics must be considered when allocating funds for attracting new versus managing current customers. 

Overbuilding product(s)

Overbuilding a product (before traction) can lead to overspending of time and money.

While building any product, assumptions are made related to what customers want, etc. Because at least some of those assumptions are likely to be incorrect, it is possible to waste time and money building the wrong thing.

Similarly, building an amazing product doesn't assure its sales. And if you can't sell it, you've wasted your time and resources.

The key to accurately building a product lies in understanding the concepts "Minimum Viable Product" and "Sell Before You Build".

We have always done it that way/ Didn't work, won't work

Phrases like these offer real insight into patterns that stifle businesses. In this ever-changing landscape, it's important to regularly assess the process(es) and make sure that they are still relevant and not stagnant. This is not to suggest that one shouldn't build on past success(es) or simply change for the sake of it (costly exercise itself), but rather be open to innovation, opportunity, and potential maximization. 

There’s this important corollary: just because something didn’t work some years ago (or in some different setting) is no reason it won't work again, but a subterfuge. Many problems stem from fear or resistance to change. And not to forget, even if you don't change, your competitors and customers may.

"What?"

"What is the most expensive word in business today. That wasn't a question. 'What?' is the most expensive word in the business today!" 

"'What' takes time and we all know what time is!"                           -EPOS campaign 

EPOS dramatizes the importance of the word "What" based on its research with global market research firm IPSOS in its recent campaign, making us aware of another overlooked mistake in business while positioning itself in the enterprise space.

In the survey conducted by IPSOS and EPOS before pandemics and lockdowns, 95% of office workers experience audio pain points, impacting concentration, and efficiency, resulting in almost 30 minutes of lost productivity per week for every employee. When cognitive energy is spent on carefully making out words, it is often difficult to process connections and detail. It’s simply tiring for the brain.

Miscommunication, miscomprehension, and repetition of any cause can have significant cost repercussions for any business.

Gradually over the last decade, and with 2020 acutely, we’ve seen workspaces and ways of work undergo steady as well as darting transformations. To thrive in today's market– maintaining employee engagement and overall satisfaction, it's important to ensure intuitive communication and effortless collaboration, in turn eliminating "what?" from workspaces. This will also get us to embrace the new normal of remote flexible working.

Not measuring efforts

Improving results and optimizing sales can be difficult if not tracking input and other key metrics. Monitoring analytics on a regular basis can help stay ahead of the competition.

Efforts in the right direction also matter. It's not about how many people visit a business, but the quality of traffic. Because all the visits are great unless it never converts.