Increase Profit, Simplify Your Business

If you are looking to achieve business growth then improving and simplifying your business processes, business intelligence, and how you operate will significantly improve your margins and bottom line profit. That's Why KISSing is Great for Business Growth

In business we must love our customers; we want to strive to exceed their expectations, put their needs first and keep them close by. But it’s not that type of ‘kissing’ I'm talking about – of course it’s that great old acronym KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid!

Business is complicated enough for any owner / manager – new rules, regulations, dealing with staff, suppliers & customers, juggling finances, promotions, processes, new product launches and trying to get a day off too! The question is 'has your business become too complicated'? Why not apply the KISS principle to your business – just reviewing one process could make a great positive impact.

1. Stock Keeping Units (SKUs)

How many SKU’s do you have? How many variations, duplication's, obsolete or discontinued items are in your range? Can you rationalise the range – make it simpler. If so, that means that there are less SKUs to keep track of, storage space saved, production streamlined and costs saved.

2. Processes

When was the last time you reviewed one of your processes? Take the sales order process for example, how many tasks have become duplicated or are now obsolete? People will always make themselves important by making themselves busy – quite often by duplicating work. Map the process with the team and see how many activities you can delete, reduce or simplify. This will free up capacity, resource and deliver cost savings too.

3. Management Information (MI)

MI is a great area where simplification can make a huge difference. One company I know runs 130 reports each month. When we reviewed them many were the same just set out in a different order! MI easily gets out of hand. You should be able to track all of your KPIs on a single sheet of paper – that way at least you will save a forest!

4. CRM

CRM systems are supposed to make CRM much simpler but with all sorts of people thinking they have to have the ultimate in data capture, it gets complicated, very complicated. But ask yourself what do you actually need? What is the bare minimum information that you must have? This will deliver the simplest system, then if necessary you can add the nice to haves.

5. Simple Shopping

Is your marketing collateral clear and simple with great calls to action? Can you halve the size of a brochure by being very clear what message you are trying to communicate? If you have an e-commerce site do you use one click shopping, help your customers to shop easily. So make it simple for customers to find you, to find the information they need. Make it simple for them to contact and buy from you, do this and sales will follow.

6. Team Work

Give your team a simple, clear and understandable vision for the business. Provide them with simple (to understand) objectives and goals. Rather than issuing a 4 page job description, why not try a list of things they have to achieve? Involve your teams in helping you to simplify the business – they are closest to the processes and will spot opportunities quickly.

7. Communicate, it’s Simple

Make your communications simple; quick and easy to understand. You can communicate anything in 6 sentences – try these and see how easy it is:

1. What are we doing?
2. Why are we doing it?
3. When does it happen?
4. Who is doing it?
5. How will it happen?
6. Where will it take us?

8. Product, Product, Product

Product development can lead to lots of add-on’s potentially confusing customers. Think energy and phone tariffs, you have to be a super brain to even want to understand them! Is your product as simple as it could be? Try this quick check list, ask yourself, is it as simple as it can be (whilst still doing the job)?

1. What materials
2. How is it constructed
3. Production processes
4. Packaging
5. Service, maintenance, parts
6. Performs the function

How many times do you hear “I just want a phone to be a phone”? Now some customers want the latest gizmos but many customers don’t - make sure you know your market.

So, today’s task is to simplify just one thing that you do, and the day after that to simplify one more thing. It won’t be long before you simplified your business and you'll be able to start that high business growth!

Here’s to embracing KISSing!

What is the one thing you really wish you could simplify?