Southeast Michigan
COVID-19 has radically transformed our socio-economic life in a matter of months, and this rapid change has become a new normal. It’s hard to know what exactly our situation will be weeks or months from now.
With so much uncertainty, this is a great time to think about one thing that never changes: the importance of cash flow for your Michigan family business.
The Foundation of Your Business
At its most basic, profit is having more income than expenses. All businesses are fundamentally trying to have revenues exceed expenses. It sounds so simple, but once we start looking at profit in real-world situations, things can get more complicated.
For family business, profit isn’t just a number – it means we can fund the direct and indirect expenses of the business and have some left to go into the owner’s pocket. It directly affects the lifestyle of the family. Profit vs. no profit can be the difference between on-time mortgage payments, college education, or family vacations – or not being able to adequately meet family obligations.
Greater profit can be achieved by either increasing revenues (gross profits) or cutting expenses. Expenses can only be cut so far, so how do we increase revenues and therefore impact our cash flow?
There are two basic ways: marketing and sales.
By breaking down revenue drivers into these two general categories, it allows us to think more strategically. Instead of asking the general question, “how do I increase cash flow?”, we can now think more specifically about marketing and sales goals.
Increasing Sales
During difficult economic times like COVID-19, it can be hard to break into new markets. One of the best things to do now is to better serve your existing customers. Think about what’s working and what isn’t!
These should be your first priorities:
- Review your sales process. Are your sales what they should or need to be (as compared to your goal for sales) – what is working well and what is not working? What is your sales process and approach that is reliable and drives predictable results? If you win only 10% of the time, getting that number to 20% is a small but meaningful improvement!
- Lead generation and know your numbers. How effective is your lead generation and lead follow-up? What is your lead management system and how well is it helping you with leads, lead management and conversions through your selling process? If you don’t know your numbers are you flying blind, and how will you adjust if you are off course?
- Know your customers. Know what their favorite services or products are and be aware of their well-being during this time. Ask yourself how you can better serve them, and how you can help then during the COVID-19 pandemic or as they prepare to build their business as the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
- Build referral relationships. The best referrals come from satisfied customers. Focus on doing everything you can for your current customers and showing them that you care. And don’t be afraid to ask for referrals! It doesn’t have to be a sales pitch—just ask them to share their good experiences with your business and send a friend or two your way!
- Reward loyal customers. This will look different for every business, but the customers that stick by you should recognized! Consider offering discounts for frequent retail customers, or a tasteful gift basket in B2B relationships. Find what makes sense for you!
Increasing sales isn’t easy or simple, but these should provide a good starting point for any business. For more information, keep reading here!
Online Marketing for Your Family Business
Michigan businesses might be hurting during COVID-19, but web traffic to websites has actually remained stable, and in some cases, increased.
If your business doesn’t have an active internet marketing presence, this is a great time to fix that. The inevitable move to digital is only being accelerated by COVID-19, and when business re-opens, you’ll want to make sure your Michigan family business has a vibrant online presence!
AdviCoach of SE Michigan has worked with the good people at Network Services Group and Michigan SEO Group for years now. They specialize in web design, search engine optimization, and online marketing and have been serving Michigan for many years.
Michigan SEO Group Co-founder, Nick Suino, lists these four things as the building blocks of your online presence:
- A good website. This might go without saying, but it raises the question—what is a good website? With a host of tools out there like WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace, building a website is easier than ever. However, that means there are also a lot of bad websites out there. Having a good website means it is secure, easy to navigate, and optimized to provide maximum visibility in search engines!
- Social Media. Social media for business is a must today. But it’s not enough to just have a profile. Your profile needs to be useful and active. Furthermore, it has to make existing and potential customers want to engage with your brand on a personal level!
- Google My Business. Every business wants to have a listing on Google My Business. This is especially important for local and small businesses, and it can be a crucial platform for bridging the divide between your physical location and your online presence.
- Pay-per-click (PPC). Pay-per-click is paid online advertising. Some of the most common platforms are Google’s Adwords, Facebook, and LinkedIn. These platforms vary in their details, but generally, they allow you to target your ads to your demographic and control your budget by placing limits on your bids. The cost per conversion can vary widely across industries, but the level of control it gives in targeting your audience makes it an indispensable part of your online marketing!
These tips are of course just the beginning. For more information about internet marketing, read this article on setting up a Google My Business account, or this article about the importance of social media for your Michigan business!
Planning Ahead
If you’re uncertain about the next moves for your business, start thinking concretely about ways to increase cash flow.
Don’t let revenues, profits and cash flow be an abstract idea either. Think specifically what you can do to improve your marketing and sales, and how you can measure these improvements!
At AdviCoach, our business coaches provide business owners with years of experience in increasing revenues, profits and cash flow. If you think you can benefit from the kind of help AdviCoach provides, contact us today!