Are you thinking about running a small business or even an online company as a side hustle? If so, then you need to be aware that the devil is often in the details here. If you don’t get small details right when running your business, then it can quickly grow into big problems that you won’t be able to handle yourself.
Brand Management
First, you should make sure that you are investing in a brand management service. A brand management service will put out fires connecting to the reputation of your business brand. So, for instance, it’s possible that there’s a negative buzz associated with your business on social media.
If that’s the case, then it’s important to make sure that you do think about responding to this as quickly as possible. That’s where a brand management service can prove to be incredibly useful and effective.
Review Handling
Did you know that around 80% of customers will check out the reviews of a company before deciding whether or not to use them? This may shock you but customers and clients need to know they are dealing with a competent business that won’t mess them around. It is essential that you handle reviews in a professional manner.
If you receive a negative review, think about how to respond before you actually do. This will give you the chance to sound sincere and rectify any issues that have arisen. Don’t just reply to positive or negative reviews on your business. As a business owner it is important that you acknowledge all reviews that crop up.
Revenue Tracking
Next, you should think about revenue tracking. It’s important to know exactly how much your business is earning each year and indeed, each month. If you don’t take this step, then you do run the risk of your records being largely inaccurate.
This can lead to massive trouble when you need to fill out the tax records in your business. Do be aware that if you end up on the wrong side of the IRS then you will have to hire a lawyer. You may even want to contact a legal advisor as a pre-emptive step to ensure that you are not slipping up when managing your tax accounts and your financial books.
Response Time
Finally, if you are dealing with the general public then you need to understand that they will be asking you questions on a daily basis. You will need to respond to these within a set time frame if you don’t want to see them take their business elsewhere.
Generally speaking, a great response time is immediately. However, you can’t always guarantee this so it is best to say around 24-hours. You can work around this and support your customers by hiring a separate customer service team who can deal with complaints, compliments, and queries as their sole role.
We hope you found this article helpful and that it gave you some ideas of what is important when starting your own business. Good luck and we hope your business survives for many years to come.
