Last Updated on August 31, 2023 by David
Guest Post: Alex Brown, Digital Marketing Manager at ProjectManager.com.
Are you a small business owner that can’t seem to find the time of day to manage all of the responsibilities that arise when running a growing business? Let alone take into account customer feedback and implement new business practices based on customer engagement. Don’t worry, this is a normal feeling among many small business owners and thankfully there are steps you can take to ensure you are on top of customer engagement and implementing innovative ideas. An organized business from the top down, consisting of three key components, is essential in making sure customer engagement becomes a priority.
Effective Leadership
Leadership is a topic that seems like an amorphous, over discussed trait that you could spend the rest of your life diving into books filled with buzz-words and come out the other side with the same solution each time. Communication. Know your team. Simple, fundamental traits are what makes a quality leader. It is the responsibility of the various leaders in your company, whether it is the CEO or project managers, to make sure they communicate effectively to the individual members of the team and to the teams as a whole in a way that feels both personal and relatable. This requires a certain level of nuance and skill that is learned through years of experience in their field and experience with different personalities. Equally as important, earning the respect of your team members is obtained through industry expertise, use of details, and effective listening to their ideas and input. It is your responsibility to take into account each member’s input as well as your own expertise and implement a plan that inspires each team member to perform at their highest level. Effective leadership increases productivity and ensures greater customer engagement that yields innovative ideas that otherwise would have been put aside.
Quality Team Meetings
Small businesses often exhibit and value a collaborative culture. This culture is useful in making everyone feel involved in the decision making process and the company goals, which helps to increase employee retention and productivity. However, there are some potential pitfalls to avoid when trying to save time in a collaborative company culture. Meeting conversations getting bogged down, topics being framed in the wrong light, and not keeping an eye on the larger company goals are all issues that collaborative company cultures face. There are a few techniques you can implement to reduce the impact these issues will have on company time. Allowing for each topic to be exhausted before moving on to the next is a good way to prevent team members from raising previously discussed issues and further bogging down meetings. Similarly, making sure meeting topics are framed in the appropriate light (positive, negative, neutral) are important in setting the tone for the team members so they can better contribute to the conversation without having to feel out the appropriate response.
Progress Tracking Tools
Workflow is as important as any aspect discussed in keeping the company organized and saving time. The easiest and most effective way to manage team progress is a comprehensive project management tool. Team management tools allow for small businesses to track what each individual team member is doing and compare it to planned objectives in real-time dashboards, Gantt charts, data reports, and a variety of other valuable tools. All internal company organization is made easier and more efficient when kept in a single, user-friendly management software that is accessible to users in a team or company. These tools also help team members keep up with what other team members are doing and to see the big picture of company goals that help with productivity and retention.
Bottom Line
The three key aspects of an organized small business (effective leadership, quality team meetings, and progress tracking tools) allow for you and your business to have the time for quality customer engagement. Customer engagement is perhaps the greatest predictor for a successful business and yet is often overlooked due to internal company responsibilities that eat up all of your time. Implementing these three features effectively can help ensure you are making the most of your customer ideas that lead to innovations and help you stand out from the competition.
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