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Dunkin’ Donuts just Streamlined Its Menu — Is it Time for You to Do the Same?

Dunkin’ Donuts just reduced its menu offering by 10 percent. While that doesn’t seem like a big decrease, it actually is. The company is removing afternoon sandwiches and some other items, starting New England, then onto the rest of the country. The reasons are obvious — some food choices just don’t sell nearly as well. But, it also represents a sound business practice. That is, the strategy of streamlining.

Why Streamlining should be a Top Priority

Business owners are go-getters. They look for the right people and avoid toxic personalities. But, they also can easily fall into a routine. After all, once a measure of success is achieved and maintained, it’s actually difficult not to fall into a routine. However, this usually presents a problem. It stops you from innovating or looking at things through a different prism. In short, it’s a comfortable but dangerous place.

Streamlining your business removes wasteful or redundant steps to improve efficiency. Streamlining may involve modernization of your equipment, outsourcing organizational activities, and minimizing low-performing products and services to focus on what your company does best. In business, time is money, so a small business achieves several financial and operational advantages from streamlined operations. You reduce costs, attract more customers through nimble response times, drive higher revenue and compete effectively. —Biz Fluent.com

It’s dangerous because you can no longer effectively see your blind spot. And, seasoned business professionals know once you stop seeking out an edge, you’re in for trouble. Take the defunct Blockbuster chain. One time a huge success, it fell prey to its own slow and stubborn adaptation of streaming. The list it joined is very long. This is where streamlining comes into play. It forces you to rethink a lot of things; and, that’s good.

How to Streamline Your Business

But, what can you streamline if you feel your company is already efficient? The answer is likely longer than the following suggestions. Think of these as a good jumping off point. From there, you can take more steps. Here are some helpful tips for how to streamline your business:

Go paperless. While there are certainly industries where paper is a logistical and legal necessity, there are far more which simply don’t need paper. Go paperless wherever you can. This way, you’ll cut down on sorting and sifting when you need to find a specific document.
Outsource. This is a great way to increase overall productivity. It’s also some entrepreneurs worst nightmare because it gives a level of control to others. But, the benefits far outweigh any negatives. So, give outsourcing a go and reap the rewards of higher productivity in shorter amounts of time.
Automate repetitive tasks. Every business has those monotonous, repetitive takes. Identify these and then seek to automate them. Doing so will free up a little more time and also take the boring feeling out of doing them.
Reduce your travel time. Let’s face it, when you need face-to-face meetings, you don’t have to travel across the state, county, or country. You can use video and voice conferencing. This not only cuts down on travel time (which is generally unproductive), it also reduces travel expenses. What’s more, it’s very convenient.

How do you streamline your business? What steps do you take to make it more efficient? Please share your thoughts and experiences by leaving a comment!

Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

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Most Effective Ways to Improve Customer Satisfaction

March 27, 2019 No Comments

Improving customer satisfaction is a never-ending pursuit. It’s not like any company can fully reach 100 percent customer satisfaction. Although, that certainly doesn’t mean it isn’t worthwhile to strive for as high as rate as possible. So, just how do you improve customer satisfaction? Best Methods to Improve Customer Satisfaction Let’s start from a realistic baseline. We’ll blow-up the old adage, “the customer is always right.” Because, we all know, this is a good rule of thumb but isn’t universally true. However, it’s equally as true, happy customers help sustain and create additional business. As business owners, we’d all like to think of ourselves as providers of great customer service. As small business owners in particular, it’s quite possibly your biggest differentiator. After all, how often is it that you walk into a national chain restaurant and are greeted by name, handed your favorite drink and made to feel like part of the family? But great customer service is also about knowing how to handle problems, responding to and resolving issues—something at which agile small businesses can often excel. —U.S. Small Business Administration One of the best ways to improve customer satisfaction is to eliminate repetition. Now, this is a difficult task but it’s not impossible. A full 72 percent of consumer attribute poor customer service to having to explain their problem to multiple people. Meaning, people seriously dislike repeating themselves to multiple employees. Instead, funnel such situations straight to where they must ultimately go. Most Effective Ways to Improve Customer Satisfaction Now, that’s a huge piece of improving customer satisfaction. But, it isn’t the only way you can make your customers happier. Here are a few more helpful suggestions: Monitor social media. An old statistic states if someone is dissatisfied, they’ll tell 7 to 10 people. But if pleased, will only tell between 2 and 3 other individuals. Today, those numbers are much larger due to social media. So, that’s a key place to follow. Lend a helping hand. Somethings require a bit of a learning curve to understand and eventually master. If you are selling something requiring a learning curve, offer a means to explain it. A manual or a video will work nicely. Give customers rewards. No, not every customer should receive a reward. But, your most valuable definitely need such adulation. If possible, make it personal for an added touch. Provide flexibility. Along the same lines of eliminating repetition should be the ability to offer flexibility. Simply put, give more team members the power to make decisions that can resolve issues. Prevent problems. Another great way to improve customer satisfaction is to prevent problems. For instance, if someone purchases two items and they aren’t compatible, offer a heads-up and alert them. What other practices improve customer satisfaction? Please share your thoughts and experiences by commenting! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

Employees Have These Skills You’re Probably Overlooking in Your Business

November 14, 2024 No Comments

Employees Have These In current conversations about emerging technologies like AI, workplace experts consistently highlight the critical role of human skills.

How Business Owners can Deal with Bad Managers

February 5, 2021 No Comments

There’s a plethora of advice for how to deal with bad managers — from an employee’s role. But, little is out there about how to deal with a poor manager for business owners. Entrepreneurs rely on a number of other individuals to make things happen. Everyone onboard is supposed to be onboard as a team. Sadly, there are times when a manager’s style is counterproductive to the larger organization. Fortunately, there are some effective ways entrepreneurs can deal with bad managers. Bad Managers Undermine Good Employees You’ve probably heard the old computer software cliche that “garbage in equals garbage out.” Meaning, if the right ingredients aren’t entered, the output will totally reflect its input. This same sentiment goes for your company’s team members. If employees have the right management leadership, their performance will reflect it. However, if that leadership is poor, you’ll get poor results. Bad management can impact employees and a company’s overall operations. Incompetent managers exist, and they can have challenges relating to staff members and keeping them motivated. In addition, substandard supervisors may not be able to balance budgets, increase revenues or capably perform other crucial tasks. —Houston Chronicle Small Business It’s a bit more difficult to manage a manager than it is an ordinary employee. Largely because these individuals are experienced and used to managing others — but not necessarily themselves. So, it’s entirely possible for them not to see their own flaws and shortcomings. If an employee under him or her doesn’t produce the right outcomes, a bad manager believes it’s because of the employee and not himself. Of course, this is circular logic and the situation will only worsen over time. 3 Effective Ways Business Owners can Deal with Bad Managers The good news is there are ways to get a wayward manager back on track. (Or, reform a bad manager into a good steward of their team members.) Here are three effective methods business owners can use to deal with bad managers: Identify their weaknesses. Okay, this goes under the “obvious” category. But, it’s something that simply cannot be ignored. By getting feedback from your employees and observing him or her in their official capacity, you can pinpoint his or her weaknesses (and strengths). Then, work with them to formulate a plan to help them overcome their weaknesses and rely more on their strengths. Don’t be overly critical. Instead, speak about their shortcomings in a transcendental way and emphasize their strongest traits. Always strive to set an example. Here’s another bit of obvious — but absolutely necessary advice — always strive to set an example. After all, if you run the company like the infamously bad side of Steve Jobs (who was reputedly a ruthless and hard-driving boss), expect the same behavior from your manager(s). But, run your company as a benevolent yet firm boss and your manager(s) will most likely follow your cue. When you make a mistake, own up to it and do so honestly and humbly. Give him or her public praise when deserved. This is difficult because it could easily backfire in a number of ways. Still, it’s necessary to bestow praise when and where it is due to encourage others and to foster a sense of unity. Of course, you can’t just praise your manager(s), you must also do the same for your employees. What other suggestions do you have for dealing with bad managers as a business owner? Please take a moment to share your thoughts and experiences so others can benefit from your unique perspective! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.