Small businesses are more competitive than ever. New companies open each day and find ways to market to consumers beyond what anyone expected a few years ago. The only way to stand out from the competition may be through offering an exceptional user experience (UX).
To find the path to long-term success, you must keep expenses low while providing the best UX possible. Customer happiness should be your top priority above other measures. Here are ways to accomplish user satisfaction and stand out from the competition.
1. Tap Into Technology
According to Statista, the number of searches for the term “ai text generator” hit 14,700 in January of 2023, marking an 820.4% growth in monthly search volume. The technology continues to grow in popularity.
Small business owners are learning how they can utilize machines to complete repetitive tasks, brainstorm or edit existing content with an idea of what keywords work best.
If you tap into AI for content, make sure it’s up to date. When databases are a couple of years old, any current changes or news won’t be part of the results. Also, the bots pull information from databases and already created information. If you want something unique, it is best to utilize AI for menial tasks and generating ideas but still add a creative human touch to work.
2. Improve Workflows
Anything you can do to streamline processes saves your company money. When employees work more efficiently, you reach more customers and serve them better than ever before.
Audit your current processes for marketing, follow-up and logistics. Once you see where the bottlenecks are, you can address them and speed up the process. If a customer receives a package faster or the order is more accurate, you’ve improved UX and saved your company money.
3. Save on Shipping Without Sacrificing Quality
The cost of boxes and packing materials is considerable. How can you save money on packaging without sacrificing structural integrity and risking damage en route?
Start by reconsidering package sizing. Many companies send out small items in huge boxes. Domestic freight rates rose 23% in 2021 and another 23% in 2022. Most experts anticipate the numbers will continue to climb as the cost of everything from fuel to employee wages goes up. Less surface means lower shipping costs and less weight. You’ll save money, help the environment and keep customers happy with your lower prices.
4. Choose the Best Leaders for Your Vision
The people who steer your ship can make a difference in how well your employees perform. Seek managers who care about your company and want to see it succeed because they feel invested. Give them the freedom to make decisions without getting in trouble for failures when they have massive successes, too. You’ll wind up with a more agile company if your workers feel empowered to utilize their creativity.
Around 84% of companies feel rebounding from social and economic challenges is crucial, but may not be certain where to start. The most successful brands tend to have top creative talent and trust them to run with their ideas, implement them and make adjustments when things aren’t working as planned.
5. Seek Lower Rent or Mortgage Costs
Reducing fixed costs frees up more funds for companies to focus on customer satisfaction and creating a higher-quality product. One of the biggest expenses for companies is often their commercial real estate. Even e-commerce stores must have storage and shipping space, forcing them to rent a warehouse or other building.
Source: https://www.rent.com/research/average-rent-price-report
While the cost of rent across the U.S. trended upward by about 14.65% in 2023, there are still some things you can do to lower your costs. Talk to your landlord or mortgage company about how you might get payments lower. Some property management companies are inflexible but individuals might allow you to improve the property with sweat equity and knock off a bit of your payment.
You can also seek a different location that is smaller or in a lower-traffic area. Smaller towns might have warehouse space and charge less per month. Be open to moving if necessary and getting expenses down without sacrificing operational efficiency.
6. Talk to Your Suppliers
Another way to reduce costs is to get a better rate from third-party suppliers. Where do you order goods and services? Start by looking at your current contract and when it is up. Next, phone competitors and ask what rates they’re able to offer. Finally, if you’re happy with your current supplier, explain the best rate you can get elsewhere and ask if they can match it or do better.
You might also get discounts for paying faster, frequently or with cash. Don’t reduce quality to get the discount. Your customers expect a certain level of service. You risk losing clients if the quality suffers.
Crunch all the numbers and figure out the best ways to save money. A few hundred dollars here and there might not sound like a lot. Yet, when you start saving money on multiple accounts, it adds up quickly and you’ll see you keep more of the revenue you earn.
7. Audit Everyday Expenses
Source: https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=55139
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, electricity prices were volatile in 2022. While there were storms and various reasons for the higher costs, they likely won’t go down anytime soon.
Businesses often have variable costs they can’t fully predict. You don’t know if the weather might be hot this summer and require more air conditioning or fiercely cold in the winter. You can still reduce costs and not impact customer service at all by making a few basic changes.
First, install motion-sensitive lighting in bathrooms that turn the lights off when no one is in the room. Use smart thermostats to keep temperature steady and adjust it when the building is empty. Buy energy-efficient appliances and install power strips that keep energy vampires, such as computers, from sucking down the juice even when turned off.
Be Open to Suggestions
Talk to your employees about the reasons you want to reduce costs without sacrificing UX. They may have additional ideas you didn’t think of. Workers do the job and are most familiar with ways to streamline processes and save money. Reward those who come up with the most practical solutions with free gifts, accolades or bonuses.
The best strategy for managing business costs is to know where every penny goes. When you understand what costs the most, you can take steps to reduce the expense. At the same time, small changes add up. Focus on changing things now so when your company takes off, you already have good financial habits in place and can continue to grow and thrive without worries over spending.