The chime of christmas bells act as a loud alarm for businesses to remind them of the approaching new year and the need to restructure their organizational workflow with it. It is the time of new beginnings and taking resolutions while learning from past experiences to perform better in the future, no question it also takes the corporate world by storm! If taken seriously and actioned on time, you can do wonders in boosting your business.  Especially if you are an SME, chances are that you need to do a little extra homework while going for this high leap. Although there is no pre-decided mantra to reach the top, you can define your own rules and devise tactics to walk on a specific path to success.

Here are 7 sure-shot ways/ ideas to bring about a transformational upgrade in your small-medium business:

Plan And Schedule Tasks In Advance

“Prevention is always better than cure.” It is advisable to get yourself ready with a plan of action before you enter the new year. Along with the yearly plan, there should be monthly calendars that are subdivided into weekly and daily schedules. An appropriate calendar should be prepared and followed in order to keep the effort consistent, thereby promoting constant growth.

Wake and Shake Up The Workforce

There is a dire need to stir the employees at the end of every year with an annual performance review. Do not hold back from cautioning an underperforming individual. You need to simply download a warning letter format and send it across so that the sleepy heads are awakened and bucked up for a fresh start. You can also reshuffle the employees, promote horizontally and allot different departments on the basis of skills.

Monitor And Control Budgets

This is the most critical factor if you are not very huge in terms of numbers and are still expanding your horizons. Whether it is reorganizing the expense registers, maintaining a record of the invoices, bills and payments or clearing the pending taxes, it is extremely crucial for a growing business to get a grip on the finances before moving ahead for a new beginning. Not just at the start, but staying tax compliant and keeping a fair balance sheet and transparent accounts throughout the year will take you a long way.

Renovate The Office/ Workspace

Now, if you have managed to control the finances, you need to emphasize revamping the workplace. Just like you repair the wear and tear at home to welcome the new year, it is also important to refurbish the workstations, equipment and improve the working conditions of other facilities before the onset of a brand new journey.

Adopt Automation Over Manual Work

Automatizing regular work processes is a prime key to save time and grow at a faster pace. Some examples of advancing to technologies and avoiding manual work are:

• Going paperless by creating systemic database, incorporating tools or uploading and managing files and directories on cloud
• Using state of the art HRMS Software and other applications/ technologies to automate all the tasks and make the processes error-free

Pay Attention To Marketing Campaigns

Content is king nowadays. It plays a vital role in catching audiences and converting them into prospects or customers. To experience better results in 2020, a major step you can take is to schedule and organize your marketing and social media campaigns. Prepare a content calendar and decide SEO/ SEM strategies beforehand to plain sail in the upcoming year.

Follow-Up With Customers Rigorously

Customers are the heart of a company. Your bond with your customers defines if your journey is going to be smooth or painful. So, it is always good to be in “good books” of the customers. But, how do you know if they like your products and services or not? The answer is to keep a constant track of their feedback. You need to rigorously conduct follow-up with your customers to know their responses. In this way, you will have a strengthened relationship with them.

The crux is that, as an SME, it is suggested that you make a plan and move accordingly, keeping in mind the employees’ yield, budgetary parameters, the organizational infrastructure, efficiency of equipment, scheduling of marketing activities and customer support services.

James Montano