Small Business Success Idea: Systems Simplify Your Operations While Boosting Profitability

When you take a good hard look at your small business success and consider how to make it run even better, the first thing you should consider implementing is a system. "Systems" should be used in the major areas of your business including operations, finance, and marketing. But every entrepreneur can also systemize any routine process of their business in much the same way.

Author Michael Gerber (The E-Myth)suggests that you should "Work on your business, not in it." Systems are the ultimate answer. Systems remove uncertainty and give you control. Every step of the process is calculated, monitored and acountable.

A well-planned system simplifies and organizes each process, making your company run more effectively, efficiently and profitably. With a system in place, others can pick up the slack when an employee is absent. It's a recipe for creating a pre-determined outcome and it's something you'll want to do to reach a higher level of small business success.

Systemized marketing automates the task of continuously getting your message in front of prospects. Here's a simple example:

The first step in marketing might be to use lead-generation techniques such as small ads, postcards and publicity to attract interested prospects. Each response or inquiry is then sent detailed sales material. This introduces a prospect to your business or product. Follow-up mailings are made until a sale occurs, or it’s deemed no longer cost-effective to pursue that particular prospect. That's a simple marketing "system" and everyone from the individual entrepreneur to massive corporations should be using systems to improve productivity and profits.

A system is a repeatable process that can be done almost automatically. Generate interested, qualified leads - then follow through until the sale is made. After that it’s up to you to deliver a superb product and outstanding customer service.

Small business success is about continuously delighting customers and systems give you a level of consistency in what you provide. Consistency s crucial. Just imagine if each MacDonalds restaurant modified the recipe to the Big Mac. The consistency of their system ensures that the burger you have in Los Angeles is the same burger that you'll find in Montreal.