Online Business Success: Does Your Business Need An Upgrade?

Building a thriving business in today's economy is certainly possible if you remain committed to upgrading your business practices. Here are seven tips to get you started with your business upgrade.

Ask your clients to tell you exactly what you can do to serve them better.  Listen, then implement. Upgrading your business from survival to thriving requires a commitment to exceptional client service. Once you know exactly what your clients want, you can find ways to give it to them. To start finding out what your clients want, include a survey in your next client communication (e.g., newsletter) or call key clients on the telephone and ask them.

Develop a strategic plan of action for building the business of your dreams. As business owners, it is easy to spend all of our time "fighting fires" and very little time strategically planning the growth and development of our businesses. Make a firm decision to spend at least a full day each quarter creating and revising a strategic plan of action for your business that includes development, marketing and client service. Now, do it!

Implement your strategic plan of action. I suggest purchasing a 4-month wall calendar from your local office supply store and mapping out exactly what you will do each day for the next ninety days to bring your strategic plan of action to life. Then, implement. This is a tip from one of my mentors that has made all of the difference in my success.

Identify and then contact prospective joint venture partners. The fastest way to grow your business exponentially into a thriving enterprise is to partner with others. Make a list of three projects that when implemented will result in significant profits; then, locate a joint venture partner who could experience the same results. Now, connect with that person and make it happen.

Automate a business process. Systems are what differentiate a "business" from a "job that you own". Invest time this week automating at least one routine business function. Examples of functions that can be automated include: setting up online bill payments, creating auto-responders for frequently asked questions from clients and connecting several of your social media communities with similar cultures.

Build and nurture relationships. Remember, people do business with people they know, like and trust AND those who are on their radar. Make it a point this week to call a former client, current client and prospective client to check-in and see how you can help them further their business objectives.

Keep learning. Being a thought-leader requires you to have your hand on the pulse of your industry. Invest time each day learning something new about your industry, clients or best business practices. This can be done as simply as reading an article or blog post related to your business. Use Google Alerts to keep abreast of recent news. To use Google Alerts, do a search for "Google Alerts."  When you find the webpage, enter keywords associated with your company, clients and industry. At a minimum, create an alert for (i) your name, (ii) your company name, (iii) the names of key clients, (iv) the names of key competitors and (v) keywords related to your core business offerings. Your continued education will be invaluable to your business and your clients.