There is a difference between owning a business and running a successful one. There will be a selection of different criteria you will need to focus on depending on what sector your chosen business operates in. One of the most common types of business models people choose is a service-based one. Due to how common these business models are, if you currently own, or are thinking about starting a service-based business, you will likely find yourself up against a lot of local competition. However, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially if you can find a way to stand out, correctly market yourself, and provide a high-quality, and affordable service to your target audience.
What is a service-based business?
You may at this point be wondering if your business is serviced-based or not. In short, a service-based business is a business that provides a service to its customer base, instead of a product. These services often require some form of specialized skills, knowledge, or expertise within a field, or physical and time-consuming labor. A few examples of service-based businesses include but are not limited to, all tradespeople such as plumbers, electricians, builders, and carpenters, as well as dog walkers, chiropractors, therapists, and even accountants.
Why are service-based businesses important?
If your business is struggling, you may find yourself feeling defeated, and disheartened. However, all service-based businesses are in place and exist so as to help provide a service to those who either do not possess the relevant skills, knowledge, or time to be able to effectively, or safely complete the tasks required. As much as most people would love to be able to save a bit of money and do everything themselves, often a lot of time, effort, and research goes into learning how to be able to do a job properly, and that is why these kinds of businesses are so important, and why there will always be a need for them.
How to turn your service-based business into a thriving one
Being a business owner comes with many challenges. One of these challenges is to create success for your business. If your business is currently struggling, or you are looking for a way to improve how your business operates, here are several tips to consider implementing to hopefully flip the tables to turn your service-based business into a success.
Analyze your current business data
If your service-based business is struggling, and you are looking for ways in which to turn that around, then something that would be advisable to do is to analyze your current business data. When you take the time to look at your business data, and any previous work that your business has completed, you will begin to have a better understanding as to what areas of your business are going well, and where you need to implement improvements. Without going over your historical business data, you are essentially moving forward blindfolded and hoping for the best. You don’t need to invest many hours into this once your business is progressing at a rate that you deem acceptable, but if your business is currently underperforming then this is a good place to start.
Revisit and update your business plan
Your business plan is an important factor to consider, especially if your service-based business is struggling, and you want that to change. Something, somewhere is going wrong, and you will need to fix that. Often the problem can be within your business plan, so make sure you revisit it and update it accordingly. It might be that you need to completely rethink, and overhaul your current business plan, but it could also just need some minor adjustments, and tweaks to help you change your business from struggling to success.
Conduct competitor analysis
A great way to ensure that you are not only staying relevant, and competitive, but to also help you and your business steer clear of unwanted struggles, and problems, is to do regular competitor analysis. There is no real downside to spending time analyzing your competitors. For example, if they are doing well, then you will be able to take notes on what they are doing, and what is working, and then implement their strategies into your own. On the other hand, if your competitors are not doing so great, and are struggling themselves in certain areas, you will have a better idea of what to stay away from, and not do. Don’t spend too much time focusing on what other people do, but make sure that you regularly check in on them as the information you can gather can be extremely useful, especially when turning a struggling business into a successful one.
Up your marketing game
A great way to help turn your service-based business from a struggling one to a successful one is to invest in a solid marketing strategy. For example, if you are a local tradesperson such as a plumber, then you will need to find ways in which to find potential new customers. Word of mouth is a powerful tool that has been used by many different businesses for hundreds of years, however, sometimes it is not enough. If you don’t have the time, or knowledge to implement your own marketing strategy, then you could consider finding an agency that provides marketing for plumbers, or whatever else your service-based business may be. These marketing professionals will have different strategies, and price plans to help accommodate most businesses so as to help them boost their visibility, and hopefully attract more new customers. There are many different ways in which you can market your business, from free, to paid options. It is down to your discretion, and budget as to how you approach this technique, and how fast you wish to see results.
Get feedback from your customers
Struggling service-based businesses often have a common denominator, and that is a lack of custom. Customers don’t generally leave, or stop buying goods and services from businesses for no reason. So, if you are struggling, losing customers, or having trouble finding them, it may be worth considering getting feedback from your customers, or asking for feedback from your local community. Once you have a significant amount of opinions, and feedback from current, and potential customers, you will be able to see more clearly as to why people are not interacting with your business. Once you have this information you will then be able to act accordingly, and change what needs to be changed so as to provide the service that your local community wants, or needs, for a price that they are able, and willing to pay. There could be a lot of factors going wrong with your service-based business that you are not aware of, or cannot see as you are not the customer. That is why getting customer feedback is so important in turning your business from a struggling one to a successful one.
Collaborate with other businesses
Collaborating with other local businesses is a good way to help support one another, especially if one, or both of you are struggling. Symbiotic relationships between businesses can prove to be extremely beneficial, especially service-based businesses. The reason for this is that you will often spend a lot of time communicating with your customers and helping them to solve problems that they may have. During these conversations, often other issues will arise, so, for example, if your business partner hears of an issue that one of their clients has that you can fix, they can recommend you, and vice versa.
Focus on your customer experience
The experience that your customers have with you, and your business is extremely important. If for example, you offer poor customer service or a terrible experience to all of your customers, then you will find that many of them will complain, or simply not return to use your service. To stop this from happening, ensure that you, your employees, and your service-based business offer the highest quality of customer experience possible. This does not mean telling the customer that they are right all the time, or even that you have to visit them at the drop of a hat. What it does mean is providing clear, well-communicated, transparent, helpful, and high-quality services to them.
Revisit your pricing
If your business is currently struggling, then something to consider is your pricing. Although you may believe your expertise is priced correctly, it may be that your customers simply cannot afford it, or there may be much cheaper options available. If you are in a position where you have enough work to achieve your financial goals, then this is not something you will need to consider revisiting. However, if your business is struggling, then it might be worth looking into until you can balance out your supply and demand status.
So, whether you are looking to kick-start your startup business, or revamp an existing one, consider implementing these tips to help make your service-based business a success.