Part One of a Two Part Series……….. General Motors, having survived 100 years, may run out of cash this year. Fannie May and Freddie Mac are operating only because of governmental intervention. Other companies are reducing 401K matching contributions, laying off employees, are putting themselves up for sale and putting an end to all bonuses and incentives. If these larger corporations, with their teams of experts, movers and shakers, are thinking bankruptcy, how can smaller companies have a chance? The fact is that if any companies are going to succeed, smaller businesses have a higher chance of making it. Smaller businesses can more easily modify their business plan and create profitable custom offerings to their most successful clients. But to do this, companies must concentrate on three activities: Know the customers, know the finances and know the employees. Let’s start with knowing the customers. Know your customers Some customers are simply more profitable than others are. If you haven’t already done so, perform an ROI analysis on your customers. You may be shocked that you spent more money gaining some top clients than you actually get back in invoices. Know who these customers are, because, with the same analysis, you’ll identify your most profitable clients. Once you identify your most profitable customers, you can talk to those customers to find out what type of needs they have. Perhaps you can customize your offerings to increase the profitability ratio or perhaps you can collaborate with a complementary business to provide an all-in-one solution. In any case, learning what makes a profitable customer can help you roll out similar solution in different markets, geographies, or with bundled products. The rest of this article will be posted soon! Tune in for part two where we review knowing finances and knowing your employees. Linda for Contemporary VA