15 Examples of Business Agility for
Small Business Owners
Women’s Venture Fund
Business agility defined:
The ability of an enterprise to rapidly respond to change by adapting its current
infrastructure or value proposition. Agility allows you to meet customer demands, adjust to the changes in the business environment and react quickly to market and internal changes in productive and cost-effective ways. Here are examples applicable to a variety of industries:
- Source local products in your restaurant, bakery or food truck. And boast about it.
- In addition to thanking your customers for each purchase, acknowledge their birthdays and send holiday cards (in the mail!)
- Already mailing out discounts and coupons (according to your inventory levels)? Try rewarding loyal customers with a customized discount offer on what they actually purchase from you. Can you send a freebie coupon on one of their favorite items?
- Offer free samples in your shipments.
- Become eco-friendly: Is there an opportunity to introduce a more environmentally responsible version of your product? Following trends can be highly profitable whether it’s offering healthy versions of food favorites; non-leather versions of clothes and accessories for vegans; natural beauty products or merchandise packaged in recyclable containers. Price accordingly for these premium products.
- Monitor customer behavior and demands using social media marketing. Not only interact and provide content on your company website but identify groups of potential customers on like-minded sites. First listen to the conversation; then participate with feedback on the ongoing discussion and provide free advice.
- Monitor trends in your industry by reading industry and consumer publications…attending tradeshows…and setting up google alerts. Has your competitor hit on a trend? Find out by trolling their website…visiting their store…and following them on social media.
- Are your marketing messages mobile-friendly?
- Retarget customers and prospects who opened your email messages and visited your website with offers and customized content.
- Consider offering customers the convenience (and hipness) of using a mobile app to pay for purchases in your store.
- Establish standard operating procedures (SOPs) even for a small team of employees.
- Create a job description for each team position. You’ll experience less disruption should an employee leave or you have to hire temporary staff.
- Cross train your team members.
- Monitor performance, address shortcomings immediately and reward deserving staff.
- Assess your accounts receivable procedures: Does the term of payment on your invoice need a rewrite, for example, from a 45-day to 30-day or even 14-day payment policy? (Be sure to give proper advance notice of any change to your customers!) Can you afford to incentivize early payment of invoices with a small discount?
Was this helpful? Drop me a line: Jessie.Mcnair@wvf-ny.org
Register here for:
Business Agility for Savvy Entrepreneurs
Thursday, March 15th
5:30 – 8:00 p.m.
ADP Offices
One Penn Plaza, New York, NY