New York native and nomad by choice—Emily is a marketing & PR pro, now the founder of the award-winning R Public Relations, New York.
Balancing expenses and maximizing productivity is crucial, especially for a small business. Doing so effectively, and in a manner that prioritizes customer relationships, begins with building a cost-conscious culture within your business.
As a business leader, you should encourage innovation. Assisting my employees in identifying cost-saving measures and incentivizing suggestions for improvement has helped me build an efficient company culture. Utilize your employees’ creativity—it can yield solutions you never before considered.
Employees who feel empowered to contribute to cost reduction initiatives become valuable partners in your company’s success. Here are a few steps I’ve found instrumental in building a cost-conscious culture in my company.
1. Educate, empower and reward your team.
Start by educating your team about the financial goals and challenges of the business. Regularly communicate the importance of cost-consciousness. A mutual understanding of frugality and how it contributes to the company’s long-term success should be a core value among your team. To achieve this goal, transparency will be key.
Encourage employees to share ideas and suggestions on cost-saving measures during all-staff meetings. Also, be sure to lead by example. As a business owner, you set the tone, so practice what you preach. Communicate the value of making thoughtful decisions in how you use your time and seeking cost-effective alternatives. And reward your employees for doing so! Profit-sharing programs and end-of-year bonuses incentivize employees to contribute to cost savings.
If employees are empowered to find ways to optimize processes and reduce waste, it doesn’t just lower your business’s costs; it can also make your employees’ day-to-day work far more efficient and enjoyable. Foster an environment that promotes innovation and efficiency, and regularly evaluate and adjust business practices to eliminate unnecessary costs. That way, you’re setting up your business to tackle rising costs without panic. Perhaps most importantly, you’ll free up your employees to spend more time on their terms.
2. Encourage, support and offer skill building.
Hiring employees and contractors with a broad set of skills allows you to absorb rising costs without making an additional hire. You can also invest in your current employees’ skills to enhance your teams’ abilities. Offer to pay for instructional classes or allocate an hour each week for your employees to hone new skills. If your employees desire to learn more and tackle different kinds of projects, you can build a more impressive workforce and limit the need for future spending. It can also increase productivity and improve your bottom line.
By investing in your team, employees can feel more supported and valued. That translates into a stronger and happier workforce and even offers your employees a more profound sense of purpose. The Green Business Bureau says, “By providing adequate support and resources, employers can help build a motivated and productive team that ultimately drives the company towards its own mission and goals. In fact, companies that spend $1,500 or more annually on employee development see 24% higher annual profits than organizations that spend less.”
3. Be proactive and stay ahead.
Above all, a proactive approach to managing expenses is essential for the survival of small businesses. Center the approach around operational refinement and clear communication. This can position your business for sustainable growth without burdening your customers. It’s all about control and foresight. By staying ahead of rising expenses, small businesses can strategize effectively and discover alternative revenue streams. The goal is to prevent knee-jerk reactions like sudden price hikes that might alienate customers. Ultimately, being ahead of the cost curve empowers small businesses to weather challenges while keeping their customer base intact.
One proactive practice that helps foster new customer relationships is offering the lowest price possible with the understanding between both parties that the prices will be raised shortly. If you account for the future, you can afford to cut the losses that create long-term customers. Harvard Business Review explains, “In approaching any important decision, proactive pricers take care to ensure that the price is sensitive to the requirements of the individuals in the customer’s organization who will influence the buying decision. It is important to give the buyer a price that will help him or her to look good.” Sacrifices made proactively are far easier to absorb than the sacrifices you need to make amid a crisis. Remember, a proactive approach safeguards your company’s financial health and builds long-term trust with your valued customers.
4. Be transparent with your customers.
Communicating your commitment to maintaining quality and value for customers, even amidst internal changes, is essential. It’s a chance to showcase adaptability and commitment to delivering value. Transparently sharing your steps to absorb new costs demonstrates your dedication to your customers’ satisfaction. According to a Salsify survey, the number one reason a customer is willing to pay more is because they trust the brand, with a whopping 90% of consumers willing to pay more for goods and services when shopping from a brand they trust.
Highlight the improvements or benefits customers will continue receiving despite the increase. This helps them understand the added value they’re getting. And make contact with each client with a personalized approach rather than one mass email. Although any form of communication is better than none, personalizing it demonstrates your company’s empathy about the situation, making it seem more like a necessary business maneuver and less about increasing profits. By tailoring your communication to different customer segments, you can also address how the cost change might affect each group differently. Customer relations are long term, so emphasize your commitment.
Creating a cost-conscious culture requires consistent effort and ongoing evaluation. Stay flexible, and don’t be afraid to rethink everything. It’s one of the great challenges and joys of business entrepreneurship!
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