There are a number of factors that have ensured that business have been struggling in the current economic environment. Technology has made many business models defunct, incomes and profits are falling due to cost cutting and price conscious consumers and off-shoring has hollowed out entire industries. Given this reality, business networks are essential to struggling companies to help turn their fortunes around. Here are five ways you can use your business network to turn your company around – the five cornerstones of a Five Star Business Network.
- Develop Fire-Aim-Ready Innovation: To go from ‘zero’ to ‘hero’ in the current business environment, your company needs to develop a culture that promotes innovation. This is the ‘fire’ element, the fire in the ‘belly of the enterprise’ that encourages it to develop new products. You can hire people from your network to help your company develop this ‘fire’. If your company has this, you should aim to promote your product to a niche market. Then you will be ‘ready’ to achieve success.
- Develop seed efficiency: To turn around your business, it needs to develop ‘seed efficiency’. Cutting overheads will allow your to cut costs and focus on areas of profitability. Utilising your network will help you to learn how best cut your costs and develop maximum efficiency.
- Ensure transaction optimisation profitability: Any good business needs to ensure that its e-commerce mechanisms are up to scratch. In an age of instant gratification, consumers don’t want to spend a long time buying your product. Ensure your e-commerce facility is optimised in order to turn your business around. Find your network gurus with e-commerce gravitas in order to maximise your profitability.
- Phase in your products according to the original design: In order to turn your business around, you should also exploit your network to get feedback on whether your products are being developed the way that they are intended. This will allow you to maximize sales from products with a clear design value.
- Results focused outsourcing: If there is a part of your business that is lacking, you can outsource it to a results driven connection in order to the perform the business function properly. This will in turn help you turn your business around.
My network supports and shares the work I am doing because there’s a link to their common values, as well as a sense of co-creation. I started my company based on ninety challenges friends and strangers gave me, and to this day, these original contributors remain big supporters. It feels as if there’s a shared sense of ownership and shared experience, as they’ve witnessed a crazy personal project turn into a business,” says Cara Thomas, founder & CEO of Serendipity.
Use Your Network To Grow Your Business Without Being Spammy
For many small business owners, it is important to constantly grow and try to develop their business network and personal brand. Most companies today have a website and communicate through social media where they try to be seen and get more customers and grow their business. But to succeed, it’s important that you both have a good offline and online presence. When it comes to networking, it’s no longer just about who you know, it’s also who knows you.
The benefits of establishing a strong network for your business are seemingly endless. The new way of selling is using inbound marketing tactics to add value and attract potential customers to you. However, there is a right way and a wrong way to do it. And we have the right tips to help you build a strong business network.
There is no doubt how nicely you have described the 5 ways we can turn our company around the 5-star business network thanks a lot Mr. Sood for sharing such a useful information.
Very informative blog to start a business network. I thank Mr. Vivek to write such wonderful points.
Good and interesting article Vivek. Innovation isn’t necessarily born out of individual genius. Instead it demonstrates that individuals, who build diverse networks, so that they themselves become bridges or brokers between different social or professional groups, are at greater risk of having a good idea. Why? An idea that’s mundane in one group can be a valuable insight in another.
A business network consists of directly and indirectly connected companies, where social and economic ties help to understand these connections. Innovations could be seen to relate to business networks in two ways: they may result from an interaction between business partners, or they would need to fit into, or through changes to interaction patterns among various business partners, be fitted into new or current business networks.
Not all networks are the same. The network structure affects the ability of individual managers to innovate and become more efficient. To innovate successfully, partners and senior managers in knowledge-based businesses have two challenges. First, they have to find novel information and ideas. And second, they need to be able to evaluate them, spread the word and, finally, implement them. Successful innovation isn’t just about having good ideas. Putting them into practice and getting buy-in from colleagues are equally important.