With so much work to do to fulfil your business objectives, you’re finally ringing in the start of a new year!
I know you’re excited to enter a new year and have the opportunity for a fresh start.
I also know the past two years have been tough, with so many stringent measures imposed to stem the Covid-19 pandemic that have brought daily life to a grinding halt and shut down economic activities.
However, let’s let bygones be bygones and welcome the New Year with joy, positivity, and optimism. Remember, you deserve a pat on the back for how well you rolled with the punches and adapted your business to the new reality.
Now is the perfect time to reflect on your business’s progress and set your objectives for the year ahead.
These new year’s resolutions are designed to help you build a more profitable and resilient business and achieve significant milestones in the next 12 months.
Start by introducing one new activity each month, and your business will thank you.
Table of contents:
1.1. Fine-tune your customer service
1.3. Deliver a great employee experience
1.4. Make business reputation your top priority
1.5. Improve your SEO rankings
1. 5 New Year’s Resolutions to Help You Build a Thriving Business
If you’re looking to scale your business to new heights over the next few months, you need to start the new year with well-rounded business objectives and strategies.
These resolutions are great to give your business a bit of a refresh this year and help you decide what you want to do differently in the next 12 months.
1.1. Fine-Tune Your Customer Service
Did you make your customers feel valued this year? According to a McKinsey study, businesses that have upgraded customer experience (CX) have seen “15 to 20 percent increases in sales conversion rates, 20 to 50 percent declines in service costs, and 10 to 20 percent improvement in customer satisfaction.”
When you create experiences that customers truly appreciate and enjoy and show them you genuinely care, they will reward you and spread the word about your business.
Start by looking at negative reviews and deciding whether it’s time to take a new approach to customer service.
If your customer reviews show that there is still room for improvement, try to focus on areas of friction impacting their experience. Where are you underperforming? What can you do differently?
Consider personalising your customer service with a professional virtual receptionist. Once you have found a way to tailor the service you deliver to your customers’ specific needs and expectations, you’ll notice a remarkable increase in sales and customer loyalty.
1.2. Try Out Some New Tools
A new year means new opportunities to jump out of your comfort zone and try new strategies and tools to help you grow, whether you’re looking to generate more leads, nurture customer relationships, or increase market share.
If the idea of having a leg up on the competition appeals to you, trying out new tools will help you improve your business overall and gain the competitive edge you’re after.
Here are a few tools you may want to try out this year to achieve faster results and keep your work more organised:
- Communication & collaboration tools
Benefits of communication and collaboration tools: Bolster teamwork, increase productivity, cohesive decision-making, improve company culture, deeper engagement
Best communication and collaboration tool to try out this year: Avaya Cloud Office – A simple and easy-to-use platform that enables employees to call, chat, collaborate and access business apps on any device, anywhere, anytime.
- Marketing tools
Benefits of marketing tools: Offer valuable information to your audience, measure important KPIs (e.g., number of visitors to your website, where they came from, how long they stayed, etc.), gather consumer feedback, produce qualified sales leads, engage with existing customers.
Best marketing tool to try out this year: HubSpot – A cloud-based marketing, sales, customer service, and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) platform designed to optimise inbound marketing, achieve sales and marketing alignment, and much more.
- Operations tools
Benefits of operations tools: measure employee engagement, more effective and efficient processes, improve planning and scheduling, higher employee retention, align goals, boost employee morale.
Best operation tool to try out this year: LinkedIn Recruiter – A hiring platform that helps you streamline HR operations and find the right people you want to be part of your team.
1.3. Deliver a Great Employee Experience
Maybe it goes without saying or maybe not, but the success of your business mostly depends on its workforce.
If you want to tap into the full potential of your employees, it is essential that you keep them motivated and boost their morale.
To make your team truly happy, I suggest that you avoid the cloud of confusion between employee experience and employee engagement.
While employee experience takes into consideration how employees perceive and feel about their experience with you as an employer, employee engagement revolves around the commitment your employees have to your business.
Put simply, a great employee experience leads to great employee engagement. The first one is the input, while the second one is the output you should achieve.
Though employee experience is a broad umbrella term, the key factors that influence it are team conflict dynamics, the employee’s journey with the company, leader-employee interaction, and the user experience with the business’s software and technology.
Keep a watchful eye on these key factors that influence employee experience to make sure your team members are happy and motivated.
Of course, you also need to make sure your staff perks are up to scratch and allow them to achieve a healthy work-life balance.
1.4. Make Business Reputation Your Top Priority
“Repetition makes reputation and reputation makes customers”, goes the popular quote from Elizabeth Arden.
This couldn’t ring truer. When consumers make a purchase decision and choose one company over another, they are influenced by many aspects, which can be broadly summarised as “business reputation”.
The way people perceive your business can either open doors or close them. You may already have a reputation strategy in place, but there’s always room for improvement.
There are a few effective ways you can turn your business reputation into your greatest asset.
Start by going the extra mile. Take a bit of time to learn more about your customers’ needs and deliver more than you’ve promised to truly make them happy.
Then, make sure your digital footprint contains a straightforward, consistent targeted message. Provide accurate and up-to-date business information on different listings, social media platforms, and your website.
If you run a remote business and still need to improve NAP (Name, Address, Phone) consistency, the start of a new year is a good time to get a professional business address and other essential services. If you run your business without physical office space, a virtual office will make your business reputation pack a punch.
1.5. Improve Your SEO Rankings
We’re all living in a digital, data-driven world. In the Internet and smartphones era, the new year is likely to bring more SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) challenges.
According to Neil Patel, content is going to be the biggest SEO challenge in 2022. As millions of articles and blog posts get published around the same topics every day, it has become difficult to write unique content that ranks.
That’s why SEO has become more competitive than ever. So, what better time than now to reflect on your previous year’s SEO performance and set the scene for improved results in the next 12 months?
To turn more leads into customers and propel your business to success, you will need to play by Google’s rules.
Make sure you deliver engaging content to your audience. Start by identifying low-performing content you could potentially recycle or refresh. Create all of your content around keywords that your target audience is searching for.
Here is a list of the best SEO tools to boost your organic rankings, increase conversion rates, and build brand credibility.
Conclusion: Each of the resolutions above could add significant value to your business.
Make these truly good New Year’s resolutions stick by breaking them down into baby steps and commit yourself to achieve your goals. They will help you grow your business more than you think over the next 12 months.
Do you have exciting plans in the works for 2022? B2B HQ can help you give your business the fresh start it deserves this year. If you want to take good care of your customers, improve reputation and easily sell more products, a virtual office is everything your business needs to make your New Year’s resolutions a reality!
