Many small business owners competing in today’s economy find it more difficult than ever to thrive or even survive. Amazon.com is decimating many traditional brick and mortar companies that have not innovated. Groupon is commoditizing retail service providers. Despite these macro trends, there is one approach small companies can take to effectively differentiate and grow their business.
How can you deliver value if your company has the wrong values?
Much is made of The Customer Experience and Delivering Value. That makes sense… If customers are not happy with their buying experience, they will not become repeat buyers AND they will share their displeasure on social media. To deliver high marks on both measures, small businesses tend to be more effective at profitably competing when emphasis is placed on its VALUES. Strengthen your team of employees by intentionally cultivating shared purpose and core values… then notice how much easier and less stressful it becomes to run your company when every employee’s commitment to company and each other increases. Creating a committed work family versus merely a place that provides employees a job makes a huge difference. If this concept makes sense to you, focus on the following to get moving in this direction:
Why is having shared purpose and core values important?
Purpose: Employees are more motivated to bring their best effort to work when they have a shared purpose with others on their team. What is your company’s purpose? Why does it exist? What makes your company unique and what are the characteristics that make it attractive to the RIGHT employee? Answer these questions, refocus your hiring process, develop the team and observe how their excitement to show up each day and perform at their highest level of potential increases!
Core values: If your small business is more focused on hiring based on past experiences and skills and less on attitude, core values and cultural fit, then you are falling into the trap that many large companies can get away with. Bringing on team members that are a poor cultural fit create POISON in small companies and this is an enormous cost that few can afford to absorb. Companies with employees that share core values (e.g. service first, outcome focused, absolute integrity, effective and transparent communication) are apt to have longer tenured employees with higher productivity and most importantly increasing commitment to the company and team!
How do you measure impact?
Less stress, better financial results, more repeat customers, happier employees that cannot imagine working another else; these are all potential metrics you can begin to track and measure. What’s holding you back from getting started today?