The ingredients of a successful business
There are a lot of startups that fail within the five years of business operation. How do you ensure your business’s success? Here are the things I found most important in running a small business, and how RingCentral Online helped me reinforce them to work well for me.
1. Quality products
This is the most important element in a business. My pastry shop could not have grown and let alone survive if it had not been for quality cakes and breads. To maintain the quality and taste of my products, I make sure that the raw ingredients are always fresh. This requires constant communication with the suppliers. Through advanced call forwarding features from RingCentral, I instantly get calls from suppliers informing me of delays in deliveries. With this, I get to think of alternatives and other necessary actions to keep production running. Also, all the products in all three branches of my pastry shop are of the same taste and quality. I make sure that my chefs and employees are trained properly. I train my people by constantly checking with them, entertaining their questions, and giving them information when they need it. RingCentral Online features such as Internet fax helps in keeping information accessible at all times.
2. Continuous learning
To keep ahead in the business, I always keep myself posted on the latest in baking and pastries. I read articles online, try out new recipes, and talk to people. My customers are able to give me insights about my products. Also, I keep myself informed about the latest technologies in cooking and baking. I want to provide quality products, and I want to be more efficient and excellent in making them. Through RingCentral, I can easily connect with customers and business contacts while doing other things online. RingCentral has Call Controller, a desktop application through which I can manage my calls and faxes. It displays all call, fax and voicemail activities in real time, so I see on my screen if there is an incoming call, fax or if there is a new voicemail message in my mailbox. I can then choose to take action on them by selecting on the options with just a few clicks of a mouse. I can answer, reject or send a call to voicemail. I can also download faxes as PDF or Microsoft files. As with voicemails, I can listen to them in any order, and return calls.
3. Strong customer base
A strong business means that it has a strong customer base. To achieve this, you have to have original and quality products that would keep your customers coming back. At the start of my business, I was able to build my customer base through word of mouth. My first customers found my products to be delicious and unique. However, I came to a point where there was no growth anymore. I reached a limit in my number of customers. I realized that had to step up and exert effort in getting new customers, while doing my best to keep my existing ones. Good thing RingCentral has features that can be used for customer service and also for marketing and promotion. I used these features to gain new customers. First, I got a toll free number. Because callers do not get charged when they call, customers were not hesitant to dial out my number. I gained new customers through this, and I am also able to keep my customers. The toll free number serves as an avenue for me to take good care of existing and would-be customers.
4. Website
The Internet has become the most powerful tool of our time. I saw this myself, since I was very reliant on it when it comes to information and communication. Nowadays, the success of a business is almost dependent on its success in the Internet. I decided to set up a website as I expanded my business and had two additional branches. Aside from extending reach, the website serves as a way for customers to connect better to the pastry shops. Through RingCentral Click-to-Call, customers can simply click on the toll free number posted on the website to dial out. Because of this feature, I saw more customers coming in. Practically everything is now online, and I’m glad that RingCentral even enhanced how my pastry shop’s website works as an avenue for good customer service.
5. Effective marketing strategies
Constantly thinking of new and effective ways to market your business is important and crucial to the success of your business. As a small business, I have limited resources for advertising and marketing. Amid tight competition, I had to be innovative in thinking of ways to advertise my products. RingCentral Online had tools which I use for advertising and marketing. Through messages on hold, callers can wait and listen to promotional advertisements recorded especially for the business.
6. Focused customer service
You should take good care of your customers. As the saying goes, “The customer is always right.” Make sure that you have your customers’ best interest at heart. Listen to their concerns and get feedback from them. I always make sure that I am able to give my customers the best pastries. Through the RingCentral toll free number, my customers have an easy way to reach me or any of my staff. Not only has this helped in taking orders and answering their inquiries, this has also helped in maintaining good relationships with our customers.
7. Excellent team
A growing business would also their staff growing. As my business expanded to three branches, I got more people to help me run my business well. I hired my staff based on my standards and the requirements of my business. To maintain excellent business operations, I make sure that I am in constant communication with my employees. I conduct trainings and I visit all my branches regularly. In addition to that, we are connected to each other through RingCentral Online. Through extensions, my whole team can reach each other by simply dialing an extension number. This is a very affordable way for everyone to stay in check and on the same page. Through Internet fax, I am able to easily send out important documents and instructions to my staff in the other branches. Information exchange is crucial, especially for recipes and the correct procedure for making the pastries.
